What If
by PCJAL
Summary: What if Grace got into the car... Neil/Grace SPOLIERS FOR EPISODE INTERVENTION! NOW COMPLETED!
1. Chapter 1

**What if things were different**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone- It is a shame though….**

**Author Note- I have not written in a very long time, prefer just to read, but I had to get this down on paper! I will apologise now for my grammar, I have no beta at all, so I am only doing my best.**

**If anyone would like to be my beta, then let me know!**

**Apart from that I hope you enjoy!**

Just 'what if' from episode Intervention. 

With the man beckoning her towards him, Grace started to have second thoughts ' Should I go to the car, I know sarge has said I can, but what does it matter, why does he need me in the car' cutting into her thoughts Grace hears Max.

" Grace, we can't chance them leaving without them giving us Kapur, they obviously want you to go to the car and see him yourself" Carter said to her through the ear piece. Pushing her towards them.

Watching Grace once again walk towards the car on video, Neil starts to worry, he did not want her getting into the car " Max, we now have a better visual, get her out of there right now!" he says into his radio.

"We have the place surrounded even if Grace gets into the vehicle, they will never get away" Max says back, hoping that he is not wrong in his assumption.

Looking at the video again, Neil starts to panic " I don't care, I gave you an order, I said get her out! "Neil shouts into the radio

Hearing the panic in his voice Terry cannot take it anymore "Right that's enough" He says to himself, " All units move in" talking into his radio, whilst starting the car. Heading towards the car park.

By this time Grace has got to the male standing in front of him, she asks " Now what", with that the male grabs her arm and pulls her towards him, holding her on her upper arms. Trying to get away from him Grace starts to struggle, trying to push herself off, he only grabs her even more tightly on her arms.

Starting to feel the bruise forming on her arms, Grace starts to regret going to the male.' they can see me,30-45seconds that all I have to wait till back up get here' Grace thinks to herself breathing deeply ' how long has it been?'

Hearing the sirens coming into the car park, Grace releases a breath she didn't realise she was holding.

" You shouldn't of got involved pig" the male states,

Shocked at hearing those words Grace looks into the males eyes, seeing the smirk in his eyes Grace starts struggling even more, Kicking at the male, and trying to punch him, nothing seemed to work. The male then picks her up by her waist and throws her into the back of the car. Following into the car after her, the male places a knife against her throat.

" I suggest you don't move, if you want to live" the male states, glaring at her from behind his mask, Grace starts to panic, breathing erratically, Grace starts looking around to see if there is anything that she can use against him. 'how long has it been surely the seconds are up now?' she thinks to herself.

Sucking in her breath she hears the car start up, 'Oh god am I going to get out of this alive?, are all of the exits covered?, where are the guys?'

"Oh God" Neil breaths out whilst seeing Grace get pulled towards the male, seeing her struggle against him, "The male has got her!" Neil gasps into the radio. Then all of a sudden Neil sees Grace look up at the male and then starts struggling even more, kicking and attempting to punch the male, whilst trying to get out of his grip. He can see that she is not doing well against him. The next scene takes Neil's breath away, seeing the male pick her up and throw her into the back of the car, he starts cursing Max under his breath.

" Grace has been forced into the car, repeat Grace is in the car" Neil states into his radio.

The car starts moving and Grace really starts to panic, realising that the knife is no longer against her throat, Grace looks up at the male again, seeing that she did not hold his attention, she takes a chance and starts slowly moving her right arm up.

Hearing the sirens getting closer, Grace moves all of a sudden hitting the males arm, away from her, not doing much damage to him, Grace does manage to get out of his range to do harm to her throat.

" Bitch!" The male growls, all of the sudden he lunges towards her, with the knife.

"Grace has been forced into the car, repeat Grace is in the car" Neil voices states as it comes over the radio. Hearing this Terry fears the worse, " she better be alright Max, or else" Terry glances over to his side.

" She will be" Is all Max replies.

Catching Mickey's eye in the rear view mirror, fear is shown in his eyes, and Terry thinks to himself ' she better be'.

Coming head on with the car, Terry swings it to block the car. The target car slams onto its brakes. With the van full of armed officers behind them, all three stay in the car. Then all of a sudden the drivers and rear drivers door swings open and the males rush out, they soon stop short when they see several armed officers pointing their guns at them.

" On the floor, on the floor" Is all Terry can hear as he rushes out of the car, ' where is Grace he murmurs to himself?' Getting to the rear of the car, Terry pulls the door open." Oh God" is all Terry can manage to say.

" I need an ambulance now" Terry shouts into his radio. " Grace, Grace can you hear me?" Terry practically shouts. " Oh God!" Checking for a pulse, but unable to find one.

" Is she alright?" Terry hears through the radio.

" Terry!" shouts Mickey, "Jesus" is all he can say when he sees Grace "Is she….."

Unable to finish the sentence.

" I don't know, we need to get her out of the car now!" Terry states bringing himself together. " Mickey!". Terry says when he realises that Mickey is just standing there.

" Right, right" Mickey states that snapping himself out of it. Moving to get into position he starts to help Terry get Grace out of the car.

" She alright?" Terry hears Max say, coming around to see her after hearing the commotion from the others.

" Get out of our way now!" Shouts Terry. Whilst him and Mickey manoeuvre Grace out of the car and lay her on the floor. Searching for a pulse again Terry somewhat sighs with relief. " Found One"

"Argh" Terry and Mickey hear, looking at Grace they see her coming round. Opening her eyes Grace sees Mickey and Terry hovering over her with worried expressions on their faces. " hey" Grace whispers lightly, trying to move, she gets held down by both men.

"Stay still Grace, you have lost a lot of blood" Terry talks to her softly, whilst trying to find out where the blood is coming from.

" What do you mean?" Grace asked confused, looking down at herself she notices that she is covered in blood. " How?…." As she tries to move her left arm. Grace cries out lightly.

Hearing her cry, Terry examines her arm, " looks like you've been stabbed Grace" Terry utters.

" He….he had a knife, he came at me….." Grace whispers, "oh god" she collapses back onto Terry.

" Here, don't worry the ambulance is here now, they'll look after you" Terry says softly to her, whilst looking at her arm and putting pressure on it.

The paramedics arrive and take over from Terry. Cutting her coat off, they start assessing Grace, noticing her arm wound they begin to wrap it up. The paramedics then start asking her questions, " have you been injured anywhere else?, what was you stabbed with?"

"I need an ambulance now!" Is the worst phrase Neil wanted to hear, not being able to see anything properly on the video, Neil asks "Is she alright?". Staring at the screen Neil prays that she is ok, he can see Terry standing at the door, and then Mickey coming up to him.

The next thing he sees nearly stops his heart, Neil can just about make out Terry and Mickey pulling something, no wait someone out of the car. " Get me to St. Hughes now" Neil says whilst walking out of the control room. Without looking to see of Banksy is behind him, he rushes outside. Leaning over the railing Neil tries to calm himself down.

Standing outside, seeing Neil breathing deeply whilst leaning over a railing Banksy gives him a few moments to compose himself. " Guv…." He starts

Shooting his head up, Neil makes eye contact with him " Is she…" he starts but unable to continue

" She has been injured….but she is talking" Banksy tells him "lets get you up there shall we."

On the way to the hospital Neil is quiet, thinking to himself, different scenarios going through his mind 'what if she is hurt bad? what if she doesn't make it….., No! Banksy said she was talking, but people can go downhill very fast' another voice comes into his head. Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he notices that they are coming up to St Hughes.

Pulling into A & E Neil immediately sees Terry and Mickey standing outside. What alarms Neil the most is the fact Terry top half is covered in blood. " Wha…." Neil starts to say

Terry puts his hands up" It not mine, but its not all of Grace's either", Terry says quickly seeing how pale his boss was coming " It seems that she managed to do some damage to the guy that hurt her". Hearing the boss breath he carry's on. " She is being looked at by the docs at the moment, they say she will be fine"

Nodding his head at them Neil speaks " Go home and get yourself cleaned up, both of you" he adds after seeing that Mickey has blood on him as well. " Oh, where is Max?" he asked distractedly whilst looking into A & E.

" He went back to the station" Mickey says, flicking his eyes to Terry. Only getting a nod in reply from the boss.

Banksy looks at Neil, and giving him the keys no one says anything.

Taking a deep breath Neil walks into A & E with Banksy, Terry and Mickey watching him go. Then turning around all three head towards the car.

First chapter done! What do you all think. I am writing the next chapter now, let me know if you want me to carry on or is it a lost cause. Should I go back to just reading them?…..Lol.


	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter people!**

**This story does have some sort of plot, but I do like lots and lots of fluff, so that is what you are getting I'm afraid. I will try to stay on topic, but it can be hard when I get carried away.**

**Thank you for the reviews, they do encourage me. Enjoy!**

Walking into A & E was the worst moment of his life, looking around he could see the hustle and bustle taking up all of the A & E staffs focus. Heading towards the receptionist desk, he waits in line, nervously looking around him trying to get a glimpse of Grace.

" Can I help you Sir?" A voice asks, whipping around he sees an older lady peering at him.

" Uh, can you tell me where DC Dasari is please" Neil asks placing his hands on the desk in front of him leaning slightly.

" Erm, who Sir, I need a first name" The receptionist asks smiling slightly.

" Sorry, Grace Dasari, police officer she was just brought in with a stab wound" Neil says staring at the receptionist.

Looking at the man standing in front of her she could tell he was starting to get impatient "and you are Sir?…." she asks.

Flipping his warrant card out showing his I.D and badge. Neil simple says " her boss".

Looking at the card, the lady smiles lightly, tapping on her keyboard " Pelican ward, down the hall on the right, bed six." Before she could say anymore. The receptionist hears a 'thank you'. When she looks up all she see is the retreating back of the officer heading down the hall. Shaking her head slightly she calls "next".

Standing outside the Pelican ward, Neil breathes deeply 'you can do this Neil, she's fine, they would of told you otherwise, come on be a man, just push the doors open and go in.' With that he pushes the doors open and enters.

The ward is not that big, with only eight beds in the ward and looking like four of them not being occupied. His eyes look along the rails for the number six. When he spots it, Neil notices that the curtains are drawn around it. Walking over to them he stops, standing in front of them he listens for voices, but he cannot hear any. ' Do I go in? Maybe I should go? And get one of the guys to check on her. No! you have to see her to make sure she is all right'. Before he could go in a voice attracts him.

" Sir, can I help you?" a male voice questions him.

Turning around Neil sees that the male voice in question is actually a doctor, holding a chart, Neil spies that it has Dasari written on it. Noticing that the doctor is still staring at him, Neil shakes his head. " Hi I'm D.I Manson, my officer is in there" pointing to bed six, " just not sure if I can go in or not as the curtains are drawn"

" Oh, right, yes that's not a problem at all, we just closed it for privacy" the doctor replies. Looking at her chart the doctor carries on talking to him. " Right she has received a wound to her left upper arm, the wound was a little deep, that's why she bled a bit, so we have stitched her up and she is fine now. She can be released , once the paperwork is completed " The doctor trailed off as he notices that his audience is not paying attention, just staring at the curtains. Walking away the doctor goes back to the nurses station.

Lifting the curtain to the side Neil glimpses Grace for what seems like the first time in days. Laying on the bed with her arm wrapped up and placed in a sling Grace lays there with her eyes closed. Staring at her Neil sighs " Oh Grace"

Suddenly Neil jumps his mobile starts ringing, looking at the I.D is shows Jack Meadows. " Sir" Neil answers whilst walking away slightly as not to wake her.

" How is she Neil?" Jack asked Neil softly through the phone.

Taking a deep breath Neil speaks" She's asleep at the moment Sir, got a knife wound to the arm, but that is it, the doctors say she will be fine, she should be out soon" he finishes.

" Alright, I will be speaking with the others first, but I will need to speak with you as well Neil" Jack tells him.

" Understood, I.." Neil starts, but Jack cuts him off.

" Stay up there for a while Neil, she could sure use a face she knows when she wakes up." Jacks cuts in.

" Thank you Sir" Neil replies. Neil then ends the call. Going back to the cubicle Neil once again looks at Grace expecting her to be asleep still. He is shocked when he see her sitting on the side of the bed. "Hey" is all he seems to manage to say. " Sorry did I wake you?". Neil asks.

Shaking her head slightly Grace answers him, " no I wasn't asleep only resting" Grace pauses before starting again " I don't know how long they want to keep me here…" she says

" I don't think it will be that long, the doc said something about paperwork….." Neil replies trailing off while looking outside for the doctor.

" Ok…..well you don't have to stay here Sir, I'm sure that one of the guys can come and pick me up" Grace says softly. Trying to catch his eye, she sighs softly when he avoids her eye, looking down at the floor she closes her eyes waiting for the inevitable scolding that she is due to receive.

Hearing her sigh, Neil looks up at her. Seeing Grace with her head hanging down nearly undoes him. All he want to do was to take her into his arms and tell her that it was going to be all ok, but he knew he couldn't. Instead he answered her." Nope, I'm here, I sent the guys back to change, I'll drop you off home and I'll speak with them in a bit"

Sharply bringing her head up, Grace asks " home?" showing a confused look on her face Neil continues.

"Yes…. home" Neil starts hesitantly, "you have been injured where else are you going to go?" he continues, coming to stand by her.

Shaking her head Grace answers " No! I mean I can work, there is no need for me to go home, after all we still have a case going" Graces states while standing up.

Shaking his ready to over-rule her Neil opens his mouth, but before he can say anything Grace carries on.

" Please, If I sit at home I'll just keep going over it in my mind, I want to be of some help" Grace pleads, quietly drifting off at the end. Looking away as she can feel the tears starting to pool in her eyes.

Listening to her, Neil steps in very quickly. " No!" he states, knowing what she is thinking" this is not your fault, you could of not anticipated this outcome, this has not happened before so you had no reason to think that they would do something like this this time." Neil tells her, trying to gauge out her reaction but not having much luck. Touching her good arm lightly Neil tries to make eye contact with her. When he does he sucks in his breath as he sees her eyes filling up with water. Opening his mouth to console her Neil gets interrupted.

" Right, the doc has signed you out, the paperwork is all done, I just need to get you your pain meds, then you are free to go" the nurse bustles into the cubicle interrupting what Neil was going to say to her. Looking at Grace and seeing her eyes watering, and to Neil's hand still on her arm, the nurse stops before carrying on " are you ok Ma'am?" the nurse asks flicking between Grace and Neil.

Looking away from Neil .Grace replies positively to the nurse, asking how long it would be until she can have her medication. " Not long, I'll go and get it now" the nurse states while backing out.

Leaving both of them alone again, the silence passes slowly. Looking at Grace he sees that she still had her clothing on which was bloody, seeing this it brings Neil out of his revive, shaking his head. " If you are certain that you want to go back to into the station" Neil starts, seeing that Grace nods her head, he carries on " I'll take you via your house, to change" Neil says while pointing at her blood stained clothing.

Looking down at herself, Grace simply replies "ok". smiling sadly.

With the silence engulfing both of them Neil plucks up the courage to begin to talk to Grace, about the earlier revelation "Grace about Jake" Neil starts

Putting up her hand, Grace stops him " Guv, please not now, its none of my business who you tell and who you don't"

'Guv' Neil thinks to himself ,opening his mouth again to speak, Neil is once again interrupted by the nurse. " Here you go, these are your meds " Whilst the nurse begins to explain the meds to Grace, Neil updates Meadows that they would be leaving soon and would be back at the station soon.

The drive to Graces flat is quiet, both consumed in their own thoughts. Neil finally gets Grace to her flat, once inside curtsey of her neighbours key, Grace sets Neil down on the sofa. Breaking the silence that seems to have overtaken , Grace tells Neil to " Help yourself to anything in the kitchen". She then disappears into her bathroom.

Whilst waiting for Grace to wash up, Neil wonders around the living room looking at the numerous pictures that she had dotted around. Pictures of what he presumed were her family and friends 'pretty big family' she has. One however catches his eye. It was of them, well not exclusively them two, but the team.

Thinking back it was after another particularly bad case they all went for a drink. Terry and Mickey were laughing at something ,Jo and Stevie were quite drunk at that point and holding onto each other trying to stay upright, and then there was grace and me, it looked like from that angle I had an arm around her, but thinking back I was grabbing a drink from behind her, we all had smiles on our faces. All facing toward the camera. Those were the good times.' I wonder who took it?', who ever it was, was thoughtful enough to give Grace a copy, I don't think anyone else has a copy…'hmmm maybe I'll have to get a copy from her'. He thinks to himself.

" Banksy took it" Graces voice cuts into my thoughts, turning around I see Grace standing in the doorway, clutching at her blouse" He turned up late and couldn't resist when he saw us" she said with a smile on her face.

" That was a good night, thinking back" Neil says in reply matching her smile. " Are you ok?" Neil asks when he sees that Grace is still clutching her blouse together.

" Ah, well you see, it was hard enough getting my blouse on with my arm in the wrap, and when I took it out of the sling it hurt more, so I thought I should put it back in the sling quickly, but then I realised I couldn't do the buttons up" Grace says. " Sorry I'm rambling" Grace give Neil an embarrassed smile.

Smiling back at her, Neil starts to say " that's ok.." Then he realises what she is asking him to do. "Ah."

After a pause Grace starts to speak "Sorry, I know its not professional, if I could do it myself I would, but my arm hurts every time I move it" Grace fades off. Looking down.

" No, no its fine" Neil says while walking up to Grace. " Erm…" Neil murmurs thinking to himself. 'pull yourself together man!, she needs you to do this one thing, without you perving over her!, she's hurt for cryin out loud!' " Right, right". Neil says out loud.

" You can start at the top, its should be easier" Graces suggests to Neil whilst not making eye contact with him.

" Yea, Ok" Neil simply replies. Stepping up closer to Grace, they are only about a foot away from each other. Breathing deeply, Neil regrets this straight away as her scent engulfs him completely and he nearly looses focus on what he is meant to do.

Neil touches the top button of Graces blouse, hearing a quiet sharp intake of breath, Neil risks a quick look up to her face, seeing that she has a faint blush on her cheeks, Neil bites down a smile. Working his way down her blouse, Neil's fingers keep skimming on Graces skin, putting him off every time he touches her. Doing up her blouse completely Neil releases his breath that he didn't even know he was holding.

" There all done" Neil says, whether that was to himself or to Grace neither of them knew.

All Grace could reply was " thank you", making Neil look up at her.

When he saw her Neil couldn't help but reach out towards her, With questioning eyes Grace follows his hands but says nothing. Then Neil's hands gently touches her neck, but it doesn't stay on her neck, instead he goes to her collar, and it must have been creased wrong, as Neil straightens it out. " There perfect" Neil whispers quietly. Grace smile slightly in reply.

They both stand there looking at each other, neither knowing what to do. Bringing his hand up again Neil cant help but tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Hearing Grace suck in a quiet breath, makes Neil look into her eyes.

Standing so close to her, Neil swears he can hear her heart beating faster, or was it his?. Flicking his eyes from hers to her lips and back up again, he knows his heart starts beating faster. Leaning in slightly towards Grace, Neil sub-consciously licks his lips.

**That it for this chapter! Will they or won't they, please R & R it always makes me happy when I see reviews.**

**New chapter coming soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **

**Hey all, thank you for all of the reviews. They are great, it really keeps me going.**

**I now have a great beta reader Laura Denvir- who is brilliant, so thanks to her the story is so much better now. Thank you!**

**Enjoy all!**

**Previously **

Standing so close to her, Neil swears he can hear her heart beating faster _-or was it his?- _Flicking his eyes from hers to her lips and back up again, he _knows_ his heart starts beating faster. Leaning in slightly towards Grace, Neil sub-consciously licks his lips.

Hearing a noise in the back of his mind Neil gets distracted, cursing to himself when he realises it is his phone going off. Stepping back Neil breaks eye contact with her. Fishing into his pocket he grabs it, answering without looking at the caller I.D, Neil barks "What!" into the receiver.

"Guv," Banksy voice comes through the phone, "You're needed at the station."

Sighing, Neil replies. "Fine, we'll be there soon." _It's always Banksy,_ he thinks darkly. Looking back up at Grace, he sees her standing by the door ready to leave. "Grace, we, umm, we need to talk about today," He starts hesitantly.

"Guv, it can wait until we're at the station. I only really want to go through it once and I expect that Superintendent Meadows will want to hear it as well." Grace tells him while studying her arm.

Biting his lip in response to what he was going to say Neil just nods, "Okay." He sighs, "Let's get going then."

The ride back to the station was silent, each glancing at the other now and then, Neil wanting to say something but knowing he could not. _What_ nearly _happened back there? She didn't pull away from me, was that a good sign? God,_ He ran one hand down his face and looked back up to the road._ I really need to talk with her. I know she hasn't forgiven me for not telling her about Jake. Why didn't you tell her? Moron._

All these thought rushing through his mind, Neil isn't paying much attention to Grace until he goes over a bump and hears her let out a gasp.

Looking over to her he can see the grimace on her face. "Sorry. Are you okay?" He asks.

Nodding, she replies. "I'm okay."

"Do you need to take your pain meds?" Neil asks her, thinking back to what the doctor had mentioned in the snippets of conversation he'd actually heard.

"In a little while; they make me a bit drowsy." She answers him shyly.

"Don't let that worry you, if you're in pain, you should take them."

Nodding in response, they lapse into silence until they pull into the station and get out of the car. With Neil -hovering behind her- they make their way up to the office where they are greeted by Terry, Mickey and Banksy.

With Terry reaching them first he immediately asks how Grace is.

"I'm fine," She attempts to laugh it off, but it sounded forced even to her own ears. "Better than earlier anyways," she adds. Pausing briefly, Grace carries on "Thank you Terry, you know, for earlier." Grace says smiling lightly.

"Thank you, for what?" He chuckles self loathingly, "We should of got there quicker, I should never of let you get in the car in the first place." Seeing her leaning on the desk lightly, he guides her to her chair, where he and Mickey make a point of fussing over her.

Seeing Grace being occupied by the guys, Neil asks Banksy where Max is. "In with Meadows," he replies. "He wants to see you as well Guv."

Nodding in acknowledgment, Neil looks to Grace to make sure she was being looked after and slips quietly from the office.

Speaking with Jack Meadows it was established that Max disobeyed orders, which Neil took quite badly, as you can imagine. Needing to speak with Grace to find out what happened in more detail, Jack left Max's punishment in Neil's hands to handle.

Heading back into the office Neil pulls Grace and Max into his office. Knowing that Max doesn't know that he has spoken to Jack, Neil tries to remain calm when speaking with him.

Before Max can enter his office completely, Neil starts. "What the hell happened out there?" He demands, pacing behind his desk and trying –and failing- to keep his anger in check, he waits for Max's answer.

"It was a controlled risk." Max says confidently strutting across the office towards the window.

"How was that, in any way, _controlled_?" Neil hisses, flapping his hands about by his sides. However, he was not expecting Grace to answer him, defending Max in the process.

Speaking up for Max, Grace answers. "Guv, the two lower levels of the car park and the surrounding area were crawling with police." Not sure why she said that, but now knowing she couldn't turn back, Grace prepares for what she would get in return

Staring at Grace like she had grown a second head, Neil cannot believe what he's hearing. Unable to control his anger and knowing that he shouldn't be angry with Grace, he fumes quietly for a moment. Then Max goes to speak, and Neil lashes out, not knowing at whom.

"How? You had no idea what was in that car, that's why you were hurt. They could have done much more damage than they did, they could have shot you!" He grinds out, looking between the both of them angrily.

"That could be happening to Mr. Kapur right now," Her voice starts raising of its own accord, "The difference is that I'm a police officer; My job has risks, I knew that when I signed up. He is an innocent victim, he doesn't-"

"So noble! That is so, so noble, Grace." Is all he says, clenching his fists. He so badly wants to hit something.

With the day catching up with her, Grace starts talking before she even realizes it. "Do you know what, I am getting a bit tired of this, and it feels like every other day I'm in here being told by you how bad I am at my job, it feels like you have nothing else to say to me!" Staring straight at him, they both realize that they have moved off topic.

Noticing that and taking advantage of the brief pause, Max cuts in gets out of the office quickly, hoping that next time he talks with the boss; he won't be in such a bad mood. Shutting the door behind Max, Neil runs over the conversation in his mind for a few moments. Turing back around, he sees that Grace is looking out of the window, the daylight reflected back.

"Okay, I'm sorry." When she says nothing, he continues "But you scared the hell out of me." He realizing that he's repeating the exact same words that she uttered to him all those months ago.

Looking at him, Grace starts to deflate, "Well, I'm sorry about that." She turns back to the window, knowing that the conversation she has tried to avoid all day is now here.

Plucking up the courage from somewhere, Neil keeps going. "You're angry with me because I didn't tell you about Jake."

Before he can carry on anymore Grace tries to cut him off "Look, that's none of my business." She turns back to him but keeps her eyes averted.

"I had to tell someone on my team, I told Banksy alright, I told Banksy." Neil shrugs, seeing that Grace was avoiding looking at him; he tried to make her understand why he did what he did.

Grace hearing his confession could only look out of the window while he carries on talking. Hearing him say that he knew Banksy would be a guy and give him a punch on the shoulder and tell him it would be alright. Listening to him, she starts to hear his voice crack. So she tries to prevent him from saying anymore, as hearing him get upset was starting to make her feel really guilty for the way she had treated him as of late, but there was nothing stopping him. _He never normally talks this much why now? _She wonders.

"You would have instantly known how bad I was coping," His words kept stumbling out of his mouth and he was struggling to stop them. Starting to loose control of his emotions, Neil pauses. Calming down a bit he carries on quieter than before. "If I had told you Grace, there would have been a chance that I would have ended up on the floor in a blubbery mess." Looking at her again, he awaits her response.

"I could have coped with that," is all he hears Grace says. _Damn it!_ _Why does she have to be so kind? She shouldn't burden herself with my problems, why does she even want to? I've been such a fool, I've pushed her away so much these past few weeks, and I don't deserve her. _He berates himself inwardly.

"Grace," he murmurs, wanting her to look at him. Finally she does. Looking at her he realizes that he should have told her everything sooner. Wanting to say more to her, he tries to think of something but before he can there is a quick knock of the door and Banksy walks in. _Argh! Its always him, he has the. Worst. Timing. Ever!_ Following him from the office, Neil doesn't look back in case he catches sight of her, which he _knew_ would stop him leaving.

With the kidnappers caught and the victim safe, it seemed that it was a good ending to a bad day. Everyone was slowly heading home for the day, some going to the bar for a celebration for catching the bad guys, others just having a quiet night in. Looking out of his office he could see that Grace was still sitting at her desk. Wondering why she was still here after what must have been an exhausting day, he switches off the lights to his office, locks the door and goes over to her.

"Hey. What are you still doing here?" She looks up at him slowly and he can see that she looks utterly exhausted. "Go home," he murmurs.

Smiling lightly at him, she nods her head. "I'm waiting for a cab to pick me up." Seeing the confused look on his face, she explains. "My car, it's a manual. I can't drive it like this," she flops her arm around a little.

"Oh. Well let me take you home, there's no point in paying out for a cab when you'e got me!" Neil says, starting to switch the few lights around the room off.

"No, its ok, I don't want to take you out of your way." Graces starts, but upon seeing his raised hand she stops talking.

"Nope, I insist. Please." Neil smiles _that_ smile.

Nodding her head in consent Grace cancels the cab and gathers up her belongings. Waiting for her Neil proceeds to open the door and follow her out of the building, overtaking her to lead them to his car. Helping Grace into the car, he slams the door and slips gracefully into the driver's seat.

He pauses in starting the car and takes a deep breath before looking over at her. "Have you had anything to eat tonight?" he fiddles with the keys, "I can grab a take out if you are up to it." Neil asks nervously. Looking over at her, he sees Grace bite her bottom lip in attempt to keep her from smiling.

"Yea, ok. Take out'd be nice." Grace replies.

After deciding on Chinese, they grabbed it and headed back to Grace's flat.

Making Grace sit down Neil prepares the food in the kitchen, getting them drinks and utensils. Shrugging off his jacket and tie he sits down next to Grace, shifting a few times before forcing himself to still. He takes a mouthful and soon they were chatting away with each other about anything and everything. All too soon, they both finish eating. Silence starts to creep up on them, now that they don't have the food to distract them.

"Umm." He swallows a gulp of his drink, "How are you feeling?" He places the drink on the coffee table and leans back on the sofa, his arm brushing against her shoulder.

"I think I'd better take some of the medication," Grace answers. Leaning her head on the back of the sofa she closes her eyes and sighs lightly.

"I'll grab it. Stay here." Neil says while rushing to the kitchen to get the Paracetamol. Coming back with a glass of water and the meds, he sits on the coffee table in front of Grace.

By sitting up, both their knees touch against each other, whether this was purpose on Grace's part, Neil wasn't sure, but either way he was not going to move _his_. Bringing his hand up Neil shows Grace that the meds are ready for her.

Frowning slightly when Grace moves causing her knees to be removed from his, is quickly replaced with a small smile when she moves closer, causing her legs to move in between his, softly touching his inner knee.

Taking the meds out of his hands Grace pops them into her mouth then taking the offered water she quickly swallows them.

Staying where she is, liking the close feeling of being together, Grace places the glass of water back down on the table, causing her to lean closer to him. She didn't hear his sharply inhaled breath over the beating of her heart.

Looking at Neil, she can see what the last few weeks have done to him. A slightly thinner face, bags where he hasn't been sleeping well, worry lines etched into his cheeks.

Smiling sadly at him, _why didn't I pick up on this _weeks_ ago?_ She thinks.

Turning his head slightly to the side, noticing the sad smile on her face "What?"

Bringing her right hand up Grace gently traces the lines on his face which he seems to have gained over the past few weeks. Hearing him suck in a breath and seeing his eyes flutter slightly, she pauses. "You should have told me." She lets her hand fall from his face.

Before it can fall back into her lap, Neil catches it. Staring at her hand he starts to run his fingers over the back of her hand, and then onto her palm. "I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you, please?" he manages to breathe out. He didn't know if he was asking or saying, but either way, it was out now.

Shaking her head to his answer "I don't need you to make it up to me, I just…I could of helped, that's all." Grace tells him, looking down.

"I know, thinking about it I should have told you, I didn't want to worry you, but it seems like that backfired," he chuckled darkly, starting to get angry with himself.

She squeezed the hand that joined them, causing him to look back up to her. "Its fine."

He grunts, "Still, I want to make amends. Let me make it up to you, please." Seeing her smile, she agrees.

"Great, when your feeling better I thought we could go out for a drink, have some fun" Neil grins at her becoming nervous all of a sudden.

"Okay, sounds nice." Graces nods her head. "But, right now, all I want to do is relax." Sensing that Neil is about to get up, and not wanting him to leave just yet she adds to that. "Did you want to watch a film?" Looking at him, she sees his eyes widen slightly. Starting to back track Grace stumbles on, "No, no of course, you probably have to go," Looking back down at her lap.

_She asked me to stay! Maybe it not all lost then between us… Wait, did she just say no? Huh? You haven't answered her, stupid!_ He feels like smacking himself and going 'Doh', but realizes that that would looks immensely stupid, so he untangles his hand from hers and answers in his own way, skipping past her last sentence. "Righty then, what you in the mood for?" He throws a grin over his shoulder while heading to the DVD stack by the TV.

"Something that doesn't have anything bloody in it," Grace chuckles leaning back into the sofa.

Chuckling along with her Neil browses the vast selection in front of him. Stopping on one, he selects it. "Now, I never thought you would have this!" turning around he shows her the DVD that he found.

Seeing what he had picked up, she smiles at him. "I have nephews," She says with utter sincerity, "… That's my excuse."

Putting the DVD in the player, Neil comes and sits back down beside her, brushing shoulders once again. "You comfy? Do you need anything?"

"No, no I'm fine thank you." She answers, moving slightly on the sofa; Grace slides down a bit resting lightly on Neil's left arm.

Watching the film they both sat there, content in the knowledge that things will get better between them. About 30 minutes into the film however Neil feels pressure on his arm. Looking down he sees that Grace has fallen asleep on him.

_The tablets must of kicked in_, he thinks to himself. Wondering what to do and whether or not he should leave her, the one thing he decides on was getting her off his arm so that he actually had use of it in the morning, he turns to his left slightly to maneuver Grace so that she is not resting on his arm any more, but his chest, freeing his arm to wrap around her. Hearing Grace sigh Neil freezes in case she wakes up, but she doesn't; instead she snuggles into him more. Smiling to himself Neil relaxes again and stays there.

Neil sits there contentedly watching the T.V but not really paying attention to it; all he can focus on is the feel of Grace in his arms, and how peaceful she looks when she's asleep.

KNOCK, KNOCK

Lifting his head up he looks towards the door, _humph, Grace never mentioned anything about visitors… Should I leave it? Hopefully they'll go away._ Hearing them knock again, with the knocking carrying on, it starts to make Grace stir. He sighs quietly, _or then again, they could just keep on knocking._

Not wanting her to wake up Neil maneuvers Grace off of him and lays her down on the sofa gently. Not being able to find a cushion, he rolls up his jacket and puts it under her head. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, he makes sure she is comfortable then goes to the door.

"Sir!" greets him, surprised, as he opens the door. "What are you doing here?" taking in his disheveled appearance, Jo Masters peers around him, but unable to see Grace she leans back on her heels and smiles at him, awaiting an answer.

"Jo, I, ah, brought Grace home. She needed a lift…" Neil whispers while opening the door further for her to come in, putting his finger to his lips he tells her. "She's asleep on the sofa at the moment. Pain meds kicked in."

Leading Jo into the kitchen they settling down at the counter, Neil starts talking first "So, what are you doing here?" he asks

Looking up at him, seeing that he looks absolutely shattered, and nothing like the sleek tidy boss she knows so well, Jo takes pity on him and doesn't tease him. " I heard what happened today" she pauses when he sees Neil close his eyes in dismay, Jo carries on " I thought she shouldn't be alone tonight, so I came over to help her out. She has always been there for me, so it's only right I repay her."

Seeing Neil nod his head, Jo can't help but tease him a little "Bu'ut," she starts "If I had known you were going to be here, I would never have… Interrupted." Seeing his head snap up and eyes widen, Jo laughs lightly at him.

"I… It's not like t-that." He stutters. Seeing Jo nod her head but still quietly laughing, Neil doesn't bother trying to explain any more. "Look I was going to make a move soon anyway, but now you are here I don't have to wake her."

"Alright, did you want me to give her a message, when she does wake up?" Jo asks.

He pauses to think for a moment. "No. No, just make sure she knows that she is not to go into work tomorrow. I'll give her a call to see how she is. You at work in the morning?" Neil asks her.

"Yes, don't start until 10 though, so it's enough time. Has she eaten?" Jo looks at him.

"Yeah, we had Chinese earlier. Right," He stands up and rubs some more feeling into his arm, "She's taken her pain meds, not sure how long she will be out for, she's meant to take then when she need them, and," He rummages in a bag on the counter, "She needs to take these." He holds up some more medication.

Smiling at him while watching him gathering up his belongings, she thinks how lucky Grace is. "Don't worry; I'll take care of her."

Hearing Jo talking to him Neil stops and smiles in thanks. "Well I'll be off then. If you need anything just give me a call."

Walking to the door with him, Jo tells him not to worry and Grace will be fine.

Nodding his head, he takes one last look towards the living room and then leaves.

Going into the living room Jo sees Grace still asleep on the sofa, leaving her to sleep a bit longer Jo begins to clear up for her.

Hearing the kettle boiling in the kitchen Grace wakes up, frowning when she realizes that she is lying down. _Hmm. The tablets must really work; I don't even remember falling to sleep. _ Standing up, Grace stretches slightly making sure not to jostle her arm. Looking down at the sofa she realizes that the cushion she thought she was laying on was in fact a jacket. Picking it up she realizes that it is Neil's jacket. Placing it on the back of the sofa. Grace heads into the kitchen where she can hear noises coming from.

Entering the kitchen she expects to see Neil, but instead he is confronted with Jo. Slightly confused Grace calls out "Jo! What are you doing here?"

Spinning around Jo see Grace standing there, "Oh, gosh you scared me" Jo says putting her hand to her chest. "How are you?" she goes up to her. Giving her a quick cuddle, and then going back to make the tea. "Your beloved D.I. left a little while ago." Looking over her shoulder Jo sees Grace blush slightly and smiles to herself.

Once settled in the living room with a cup of coffee, Jo asks what happened today. Grace fills her in to the best of what she can. Once finishing the story and when Jo doesn't get any interesting gossip out of Grace about the D.I, they head off to get some more sleep.

**Please let me know what you think! R & R as usual people!**


	4. Chapter 4

**The next chapter is here!**

**A big Thank you to my Beta reader Laura Denvir- she really is great, it wouldn't be this good without her.**

**Thank you to all of the reviews they always bring a smile to my face.**

The next day after seeing Jo off, Grace set about getting ready for they day. After showering and having a light breakfast, she ponders what to do. _First things first, let's get rid of this sling_; _can't do a lot with it!_ She pulls it off and stashes it on the coat rack in the hall. Once that was done, she was still stumped and totally bored. Who knew she'd miss being at work?

Looking in her fridge she discovers that she is in desperate need of some food. She sighs loudly and leans on her counter, staring blankly at the fridge door. _I suppose I'll have to get a cab down to the supermarket and get at least the basic necessities; my arm could be worse tomorrow, it hurts pretty badly now. _

She moves from the counter to rummage in the draw by the note board. "Come on, I left the cab number in here…" She was brought out of her searching by a knock at the door.

_Who…?_ She makes her way through the kitchen and into the hall, walking down to the door. Opening it she's shocked to see Neil standing there, dressed in casual clothing; dark blue jeans and a nice light blue polo shirt, with a small smile on his face. _Whoa. He's never looked better_. "Uh, hey." She manages to stutter out. So what if it sounded like she was choking on her words?

"Hey," Neil answers. Standing there holding two cups of coffee, he glances down sheepishly and offers her one.

Taking the proffered drink, she smiles slightly at him. "Thanks. Oh, come in!" She steps aside waving her good arm to usher him in, rather than leaving him on the door step like a delivery boy.

Neil nods slightly and walks carefully past, as not to jostle her arm. "How are you feeling today?" He asks, noting that she's got her sling off, while he heads into the living room.

She chuckles slightly, following him into the room. "Better. I just couldn't do anything with it on so it had to go," She answers, motioning to her arm._ What's he doing here? Surely he's not… Checking up on me?_

"I know I shouldn't have just come round without calling, but I just ne-wanted to see how you are." Neil says, shyly glancing at the floor. "But, if you're busy then I can always go." He adds, pointing over his shoulder, realizing that she most likely had plans.

"No, no I'm not busy. Well, I was going to pop out and grab some food, my fridge is in desperate need of it," Grace tells him, chuckling to herself.

He looks back up to her from his position on the sofa. "Well, would you like some company?" _Oh god, he had _that_ smile on. Seriously, it's like the woman attractor._

She sees the hopeful, shy look on his face and just can't turn him down. Her expression softens slightly and she nods. "Fantastic. At least now I won't have to get a cab!"

"Well then," He smiles, standing up and sweeping his arm out, "I'll let you lead the way."

Gathering up her bag, Grace walks out of her flat, closely followed by Neil.

Speeding up his pace so he gets next to -instead of behind- her, Neil gently places his left hand on her lower back, guiding her towards his car.A shit-eating grin spread across his face when he felt her move closer, and he felt a warm fuzzy feeling spread through him. _Well, at least she isn't pulling away. _Unfortunately, they reached the car far too soon for Neil's liking.

He flaps around a bit opening the door for her, and then rushes round to the other side and gets in.

After helping Grace with her shopping, Neil carries the majority of the bags back into her flat. _God, I never knew this woman could eat so much!_ He inwardly chuckles, lifting the bags with a barely suppressed grunt onto the counter.

"The guys are coming over in a while," Grace says, coming in from the hall with the lighter bags. "So I had to get more supplies than normal," Opening the fridge she starts to put away the food.

"The guys?" Neil asks. _Since when do 'the guys' come over? And how come I've never been invited? _He silently fumes, tamping down the rising feel of jealousy.

Seeing Neil frown, Grace stops putting her food away to give him her full attention. "Yeah, it started a while ago. Once a month, we have a shift night in, normally watching films or something. Tonight's my turn to host," She moves to lean on the counter directly opposite him, causing him to turn to see her properly.

"Oh." He says, picking up an apple on the counter and playing with it, slowly turning things over in his mind, not looking at her. _I guess they don't see me as part of their shift then. Probably because I'm the boss. Yeah, that's gotta be it. _He thinks that he's keeping his face impassive. He isn't.

_He looks cute when he pouts,_ She thinks, watching him curiously. _Hold on… Does he think we don't want him to come?_ "We have invited you before," Seeing him look up at her with questioning eyes she carries on, "But you've always turned us down. I guess you were busy," she shrugs.

Realization dawning on him, Neil feels a bit sheepish. "Ah," he exhales, putting the apple back down.

"You are… Staying tonight, aren't you?" Grace asks him, watching him intently.

_Staying… I guess she doesn't want me going home today then. Oh does she mean _staying_…?_ Realizing that she's still staring at him, he stutters out a few words strung together."Uh, I don't know, won't I be in the way…? I-I- mean, If you're not used to me, I don't want to put a damper on- I mean, you won't- I don't want to get in the way but-" He stops and breathes in deeply once he realized that we was rambling.

"No, of course you won't be in the way, I- we would love to have you here," She says, smiling at him and hoping that he didn't notice her slip up.

"Okay, I'll stay." _For you_. He takes a half-step toward her. "Do you need help with anything?" He stops when he's barely a foot from her. _What the hell are you doing man? _His inner voice screeches.

"Um, I don't know. I, ah, I-" Grace stutters, looking around the small kitchen. _Anywhere but him! Where's Banksy when you need him? I need a distraction! _She realizes that she's starting to panic and concentrates on her breathing, rather than how close he's standing and how unbelievably _good _he smells. _Why are you panicking? Something nearly happened yesterday, you weren't freaking then._

She freezes when Neil reaches his hand out towards her. She sees him pause when he sees her stiffen and forces herself to relax.

When he sees her relax, he takes it as the go-ahead that it is and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. She smiles softly at him. _Mmm, he likes doing that. Noted,_ her inner self scribbles down that in the file of stuff she's learned about Neil Manson.

"I still need to make it up to you," Neil breathes, his breath tickling and teasing her senses. His hand traces lightly down her face and along her injured arm. Sighing ever so lightly Grace nearly missed it.

"I told you, you don't have to," Grace whispers to him, shaking her head softly. She takes the hand that was hovering by her and squeezes it lightly. "It wasn't your fault… Neil."

Shaking his head, dark, shadowed eyes intently running over her arm, he answers quietly. "No Grace, I nearly lost you yesterday, I ca-" His voice cracks and he clears his throat, "I can't forget that, I've screwed up so much as of late. What with Jake… and then yesterday, things could have ended up so, so much worse." He closes his eyes briefly.

He opens them again and looks down to see their entwined hands, her thumb running small circles over his flesh. _Always trying to comfort me. _He thinks, making himself feels ten times worse.

Looking back up at Grace he sees her staring at him with her caring eyes, facial expression reflecting the sadness he feels but won't let himself show. Involuntary he takes the last step closer, bringing them practically flush, only a few centimeters of air passing through the gap between their bodies. His dark chocolate gaze flicking between her eyes and lips, Neil leans forward slightly, giving her the option to back out. Lord knows he's been wrong about this stuff before. Feeling his heart beating faster, Neil subconsciously licks his lips.

With only inches left between them, he closes the gap. He tentatively touches Graces' lips with his own, still giving her the option to end it.

His kiss was gentle and soft, almost like a shy request. She felt her insides flip at the contact between them, and both heard and _felt_ his groan as he untangled his hand from hers and pulled her tighter to his body, running his hands gently up her arms, being mindful of the bad one.

Her lips were on fire where they touched his and she shuddered when she felt his tongue glide across her bottom lip, tentatively asking permission to enter. Instinctively, she opened hers at the exquisite sensation. The feel of his tongue touching and dancing with hers sent another thrill of pleasure down her spine and she reached and placed her hand around the back of his neck to bring him closer, her fingers playing with the short strands of hair at the base.

Breaking apart from her, Neil rests his forehead against hers, panting slightly. "Grace," he breathes, waiting for her to open her eyes. He's still standing right up against her, holding onto her waist. They were half-hugging in her kitchen, the shopping bags left half-unpacked and the frozen food slowly melting.

_My god, what just happened? _Grace panics, trying to remember where she is, as she attempts to catch her breath. _Wow, can this man kiss or what!_ She smiles inwardly, imagining her little-me doing the 'that's the way uhuh uhuh I like it' dance. What? Everyone's got a little crazy in them, right? Hearing her name being called, she opens her eyes. Looking at him, she can see the uncertainty blatantly shining in his eyes. _Just like mine I would imagine._ Giving him a tentative smile, Grace waits for some sort of response.

He pauses, seemingly looking for the right words. "…When I said that I wanted to make it up to you, I didn't have that in mind," He answers her unasked question breathlessly. Sensing Grace start to panic again, he quickly assures her. "But, I don't mind doing that again at all," He exclaims, grinning at her.

Still sensing some worry Neil takes a deep breath and steps backward a little so that he wasn't suffocating in her intoxicating scent. "I think we need to talk though." Grace just nods. He takes her good hand gently and leads her to the sofa.

Sitting down, silence engulfs them. Watching her staring at the ground concentrating at it, Neil begins to worry himself. _Shit. Did I get the signals wrong? Were there any?_ Seeing Grace open her mouth, he awaits her voice to fill the silence, but it seems that she cannot find the words, as she closes it again.

"Grace…" Neil whispers, waiting until she looks at him. "What's…? What is happening here, between us?" He asks uselessly, waving a hand between them.

"I don't know. I just… really don't know," She huffs out. Standing up, she starts to pace in front of the coffee table. Stopping now and then, she looks like she's about to say something, but never manages to get any words out.

After watching her pace for a while, Neil can't take it anymore. Standing up he catches her hands, to still her movements. He then brings her back to the sofa. He sits on the coffee table, much like the other night, and holds both of her hands in his. Tracing his hands over hers he starts speaking "Grace, I don't… I don't know what's going on between us, but I want to find out, if we could… Well, if we could try at," he gestures with one hand again, "Try at 'us', I think that maybe, maybe we could be good together." Unable to look at her intent gaze, he concentrates on their hands.

After a few long moments of silence, he takes it as his answer. Pulling his hands away gently, he stands up rather abruptly and runs his hands over his face. _Damn it! _ _Why can't I ever have happiness, get one thing right, just once- _He takes a moment for a long blink and heads into the kitchen to gather his stuff together. _What am I going to do now, she won't want to work with me, and I can't believe I didn't read her properly._ _Shit! _Slamming his hands on the counter -but quietly- he looks up at the ceiling for answers. Apparently the ceiling didn't want to help him, because he got none.

He turns to leave, but stops and winces slightly. Standing there is the doorway is Grace. "I- umm, sorry, I'm going to… I'm sorry, I'm just going to go," he mumbles, "I'm sorry."_ Is that all you can say? Be a man!_

Walking up to him, Grace takes his phone and keys out of his hands and places them back onto the counter. Looking back at him she says "Why don't we give it a shot," she shoots him a lop-sided grin upon seeing his eyes light up. She leans forwards and places a warm kiss on his lips.

Neil couldn't help but display the grin that was tugging at his mouth. He then wraps his arms around her waist and, being careful of her arm, picked her up and spun her around. _Thank you Lord!_

Hearing her laugh, Neil puts her down and kisses her fully on the mouth. "I could get use to this," he murmurs into the kiss, unable to get the grin off of his face.

Grace stiffens slightly, and he senses her nervousness. "What is it?"

Looking at him through her eye lashes, Grace blushes slightly, "I uh, I just have one request," Seeing him raise his eyebrows in acknowledgement, she continues, "Can we just, you know, keep this between us for the moment? Just till we know where it's- we're, going?" She bites her lip, waiting for his response.

"Sure, no problem." Neil smiles easily. Lightening the mood again he adds, "At least I can keep you all to myself for a while," Chuckling, he watches her blush more.

"I think this is cause for a drink," Grace smile shyly. Moving out of his arms Grace heads to the cupboard to get the glasses and wine.

Stretching awkwardly to get them, she feels his presence behind her. Reaching his arm up from behind her he grabs the glasses and red wine, bringing his chest flush with her back. _I think I could get use to this too._ She thinks, smiling softly to the cupboard.

Placing the glasses down, Neil doesn't move from behind her. Trailing his hands down her arms, he feels her shiver in response to his touch. _Why oh why have I waited so long to take this chance?_

"You know, we are never going to get _anything_ done like this," Grace chuckles. Feeling Neil smile behind her, she turns around to face him with the counter pressing into her back, not unpleasantly.

Groaning slightly, as he feels Grace move against him, is nearly his undoing. _No, slowly, we have got to take it slowly, I can't mess this up, not this time._

"Right," He clears his throat, "Okay, lets get that drink," He says, stepping away from her so he doesn't do anything silly. _Well, not that silly,_ his inner voice adds to the conversation.

After confirming that the group consisting of Terry, Mickey, Banksy, and Jo (after persuading her to finish early) were still coming, after much re-assurance that she was fine to host, it was settled that they would be round in a few hours. 3 pm to be precise.

The next couple of hours go by very quickly, with both of them setting up snacks for the others and listening to the radio.

_I can't believe my luck! _Neil grins to himself every time he looks at Grace.

Feeling Neil's stare on her more often that not, Grace cannot help but grin to herself. _How am I going to hide this from the guys? _While her other, more evil side says: _Screw it, I feel sixteen again!_

With the living room fixed and ready, they await for the group to arrive. For some reason Neil starts to feel nervous, which Grace picks up on.

"What's wrong?" Grace asks, moving over to him.

"Do the guys know that I'm here?" Getting a confused look from her he adds to that, "I mean, it's always been you lot, never the boss here as well." _Also, on another note, all I want to do is kiss you._

Shaking her head, "Its fine, honestly. We all often ask if you are coming anyway." Grace reassures him.

Nodding his head he smiles back at her, his eyes crinkling. _God it's going to be difficult to stay away from her tonight._ Hearing the doorbell go, Neil shakes his head to clear his thoughts as Grace goes to the guys in.

After getting over the shock of the boss being there, they all settle down, Terry and Mickey in the single armchairs, Jo commandeering Grace's very large purple bean bag and Neil and Banksy on the sofa. Grace is loitering in the doorway, making sure everyone is comfortable and settled. She likes to be a good host when its her turn.

"What's on the film agenda tonight then?" Terry starts up. "Its Grace's turn to pick tonight," Slouching further into the armchair, Terry catched the smirk pass between Grace and Jo. "Woah, uh ohh! Looks like they've already decided guys," he chuckles loudly.

"I'll let you grab it Jo, you know where it is," Grace calls over her shoulder as she heads back to the kitchen. "I'll get the drinks." she says, laughter lacing her voice.

"I'll help," Neil murmurs, more to the rest of the guys as she isn't in hearing distance as he quickly strides to the kitchen.

Once leaving the room, all four of them look at each other with raised eyebrows. "What's going on there then, eh?" Mickey asks quietly, mindful that they're still only in the other room.

"Well… I came round last night, to help Grace, and he was here then…" Jo whispers, leaning forward. "He _claims_ that he brought her home, but they had dinner too, so who knows?" Standing up abruptly, she crouches by the TV to find the film.

"Well its about time something happened!" Terry exclaims, clapping his hands on his knees. "Its been driving us crazy for months, the tension in the office is just silly," he chuckles, trying to peer into the kitchen, but since he can't actually see through walls, it didn't work.

Arms laden with drinks and snacks, Neil and Grace walk back into the living room. Upon placing the items on the coffee table, Grace waves her good arm over the array of food. "Dig in guys, there's more stuff in the kitchen if you want anything else. Jo," she smirks, "D'you get it?"

Grace and Neil then seat themselves on the sofa, Grace in between Banksy and Neil, the latter squished up against one arm, the former at the other.

"Oh, yes," Jo replies, an evil smirk gracing her features, "Get comfy guys, you're gonna love it!" She exclaims, flopping back into the bean bag.

Groaning when he sees the films title, Terry closes his eyes and asks the ceiling, "Why, please why? Do you hate me this much?" He asks in despair, getting a snorting fit from Mickey, "_Anything_ but this!"

Calming his laughter, Mickey pipes up. "It not that bad Terry. _Plus_, we had to sit through some of your choices. I mean, Twilight? Really?"

"And some of those have been terrible, especially that last one." Banksy lets out a fake shudder.

"Hey! Twilight is brilliant; plus, you haven't seen this, so you may love it by the end." Jo says defensively, though still grinning.

Settling down they all begin to watch the film, all laughing and chatting throughout it. About half way through, Neil notices Grace wincing slightly and hugging her arm awkwardly. Deciding she most likely needs some meds, Neil gets up without a word and heads into the kitchen.

Jo calls out after him, "Oh no, that's okay, we didn't really want anything!" She says, laughing. Seeing him come back in with a glass of water, Jo looks a little confused.

"It's not for me," He gestures to the glass, "But if your offering to get us all a drink…" Neil trails off with a smirk, sinking back into his seat. Turning to Grace, he silently holds out his collected items. _Why am I centre of attention all of a sudden? _He asks himself, aware that there were four pairs of eyes currently burning into his back._ Phew, it's getting hot in here. _

Giving Neil a small smile-turned wince, Grace takes the water out of his hand and the proffered tablets from his other hand. "Thanks," She swallows down the pills and drains the glass with a shudder.

"You Okay?" Jo asks, attempting to sit up in the bean-bag, but failing miserably.

Grace nods, "I'm fine. Arm," She waggles it a bit, "Hurting a bit. Tablets work wonders," She chuckles, smiling at the group. Trying to deflect the attention from her, she turns to the room. "So you guys, go set up the food." She gestures outside.

Receiving a confused look from Neil she explains, "When the weather permits, we normally have a BBQ, and since it's nice outside…" Grace points outside to her private garden area. "Have fun!" At this point Jo starts laughing at the looks passing between the men.

30 minutes later, Grace, Jo and Banksy were all outside in the chairs, watching the other three argue over the best way to cook the food. They weren't getting very far. "At this rate we are never going to eat!" Jo laughs, amusingly shaking her head.

Laughing, Grace gets up, "I'm gonna grab another drink, you guys want one?" She asks Banksy and Jo. On the negative, she goes inside to get herself a drink, leaving the other two laughing at the trio.

Seeing Grace go back inside, Neil leaves Terry and Mickey arguing over where the best place to put the burgers is, and follows her inside.

Standing in the doorway to the kitchen Neil watches Grace pouring herself another drink. "Hey," He says, to let her know he's here rather than have the drink going everywhere. She smiles at him, which he can't help but mirror.

Turning around to lean on the counter, Grace beams at him. "You enjoying yourself?" She asks, motioning to outside with her drink.

Ducking his head in amusement, Neil smirks. "I never knew Terry could be so demanding, and over burgers of all things," He laughs, walking up to her, only leaving a small gap. "Thanks for inviting me. It's good to be around you guys when we're not at work." He tells her seriously.

"You've always been welcome, don't think you haven't," She says sternly, albeit with a hint of humour. _I can't concentrate properly with him standing so close! _Grace muses, playing with her glass.

Sensing him move closer she looks up and realizes that he's only inches from her, _again._

_God she is beautiful. _He closes the distance and places a quick kiss on her lips._ I feel like a bloody teenager, I can't keep away from her._ He hears her breath hitch on the inhale and feels a burning start in his stomach.

"Neil…" She sighs, "You know the guys are only just out there; they're gonna wonder where we are," she says, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. _How did my hand get there? _

"Uh huh," Is all he can get out. _Oh god, this is torture! _ He thinks every time Graces' fingers glide across his chest. Closing the gap again Neil places a firm kiss on her lips. Putting his hands either side of her, he effectively pins her between the counter and him. Deepening the kiss Neil tugs at her bottom lip for permission to enter; upon gaining it, He slips his tongue inside. His hands wandering over her body, he pulls her closer. Not that it's possible, but he still tries.

Groaning softly in pleasure, Neil's hand finds the bottom of her top. "Grace?"He hears.

Pulling away from her, she looks up at him with darkening eyes, questioningly. "Grace?" Neil hears again. _Shit! Banksy! Again!_ Pulling away from her Neil settles himself a respectful distance from her, leaning against the counter opposite. He was just in time, because Banksy walked in not 3 seconds later.

"Ah, there you are. We were wondering where you got to," Banksy says when he finds us.

"Yep, I'm just coming back out," Grace smiles, and proceeds to walk past Neil and head back into the garden.

Noticing the tension in Neil, Banksy asks if everything is okay. "Yes, everything's fine, Banksy." _Just another interruption by the master!_ Neil grumbles to himself. Clapping his hand on his back Neil pushes Banksy back outside. "Let's see if Terry has figured out how to cook some burgers yet," He chuckles.

The rest of the evening goes off without a hitch, everyone relaxing with the help of booze. At about 8pm, it was time to say goodbye. With Terry, Mickey, Jo and Banksy each in their own cars, they left pretty quickly, noticing that Neil hadn't got all of his belongings together yet.

Giving Grace a wink Jo waves from the car and drives off.

Turning around Grace sees Neil standing there, just watching her. _Should I go or what? Why can't I ever seem to make a decision when I'm around her? Even before we were… Together. _"It was… fun today," _Is that all you can say? Way to go!_

Nodding, she walks over to him. "Yeah, it was. See what you've been missing?" She grins.

_The team night or you?_ He thinks. "Yeah. I shouldn't of taken this long to do this," he huffs. "Well I suppose… I better get going, let you get some rest, you know. You haven't really stopped today." He tells her.

_I'd rather you stay_. "I suppose your right," She replies glumly. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?" Grace blurts without realizing the words were there. _Oops. Now I can feel my face on fire. Just great._

Suppressing a grin, Neil closes the space between them. Again. _Why can't I stay away?_ He lets the grin out, "Nope, I'm _all_ yours," He shuffles a little closer, "Do you wanna do something?"

"Shall we?"

"Yeah," He blinks twice and does the lopsided grin; the one that he _knows_ is blatant flirting. "I'll pick you up tomorrow, say, twelve?" She nods haltingly, having trouble thinking with him pressed up against her. Again.

Walking him to the door, Grace shows him out. Giving her a peck on the cheek, Neil murmurs into her ear, "I better not kiss you anywhere else, or I won't be leaving tonight." _I'm getting the hand of making her blush. Maybe I should stop. Aww, like you would._ He inwardly cackles when he sees her face darken in embarrassment and something else; desire. "See you tomorrow," He whispers.

Watching him leave, Grace was tempted to call him back, but she knew better. Hearing her phone ring, Grace shakes her head, muttering to herself while heading back to the phone. "That'll be Jo. Can she just _not_ gossip for one day?" She picks up the phone. "You've only just gotten in!" Grace laughs into the phone.

"I know, I just couldn't wait any longer!" Jo giggles from the other end of the line. "Come on girl, spill it!" Jo prompts.

"Well I-" _Do I tell her? Will she keep it secret? Ahh, it doesn't matter that much, I need to tell someone. _She sits down and sighs into the phone. "Alright, where to start…"

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next one will be soon.**

**Please R & R. xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here is the next chapter folks! This is purely just fluff really, I can't get enough of it, but do not fear there is a plot coming up in the next chapter, which is nearly finished!**

**Thank you for all of the reviews, thanks to everyone who believes that I have captured the characters well, I try. **

**A big thank you again to my beta reader Laura, she is great, and goes through it with a fine tooth comb before it is ready.**

**Enjoy.**

_What to do, what to do… It's a nice day, so something outside? Or maybe see a film. No- No. Why is this so hard? Argh! _Sitting back on his sofa, Neil sighs with defeat. He glared at the open laptop on the coffee table; it didn't help with an idea.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Hmmm, what should I wear? He didn't say what we were going to do today, should I call him? No. Something casual will be fine. I think... _Searching through her closet, Grace picks out a pair of huggable jeans and a comfortable top.

Jumping when she hears a knock at the door, she finishes changing quickly, and gets up to open the door. Standing there looking rather nervous, is Neil. Dressed in jeans and a white polo shirt, twinned with the way he was standing, Grace could see the outline of his abs. _Rather shapely, defined, abs. Who knew eh?_ She smiled at him. She realized that she was openly staring and cleared her throat. "Hey."

_Wow… _Is all he could think when Grace opened the door._ She looks goo~ood._ Staring at her, he only just hears Grace clear her throat. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he brings himself back to reality. "Hey," is all he can manage to squeak out. _Manly Neil, manly._. _Why do you always get tongue tied around her? Now say something._

"Do you, uhh, do you want to come in?" She asks, opening the door wider.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks," Going to enter but pauses, Neil hesitates. "Oh, uh, I umm, I got you these," He says, pulling a bunch of flowers from behind his back. "I hope you, well, I didn't, I didn't know what ones you liked- so I, uh, I had to ask. She told me they were pretty popular-" Looking up briefly, he catches Graces' amused look. _God, I must look like a complete idiot. Stop talking._ _Hand her the flowers! _Stretching his arms out, he holds the flowers to Grace, blushing lightly.

Smiling at his rambling Grace takes the flowers. "Thank you, they're beautiful. You shouldn't have," She says, as is the correct response for when a woman receives flowers from her… Well. She smiles and heads into the kitchen for a vase and water.

Looking puzzled, Neil follows her in and closes the door. "Of course I should have, a date should always receive flowers."

Smiling cheekily to herself as she fills the vase with water, she doesn't think, as is often the case around Neil. "Does that mean I'm going to get lots more flowers then?" Jolting slightly when her brain connected the words, she busies herself with arranging the flowers.

Grinning when he hears what she said and her embarrassed response, he quietly replies. "Hopefully."

"So, you never said what we were going to do today," Grace inquires, turning to face him, her back resting on the counter.

Sauntering up to her, Neil can't resist getting close to her again. Stopping only a few inches in front of her, he runs the fingers of one hand down her arm softly, bringing goose bumps up. He pretended not to notice. "Well, first of all, there is something we should do," Seeing Grace tilt her head to the side in a silent question, Neil plucks up the courage from every corner.

He steps closer to her so they're, once again, flush with each-other. _I swear she plans for her hair to be like this_. His inner voice chuckles. Moving her hair behind her ear, he trails his fingers gently along her face, down her jaw.

"What's that then?" Grace asks him breathlessly. _I've never known a man to affect me like this before.._

"This," Neil breathes, his mouth mere centimetres from hers. Closing the space between them Neil crushes his mouth to hers passionately. Nipping at her bottom lip, he asks for permission to enter, which is allowed almost instantly. He slips his tongue inside, exploring her mouth with a sense of urgency. Placing his hands on her hips he pulls her closer to him, feeling her _oh-so-warm _body against him. Neil sub-consciously moves against her. _Oh god, this is heaven, maybe we should stay in._ Feeling Grace place her arms around his neck, Neil groans loudly. Sensing that breathing is important, Neil pulls away, resting his head against her forehead.

Breathing deeply all he can do is grin at Grace. Seeing her smiling back at him makes him grin even wider. "Now _that, _thatis how you start off a date."

Blushing at his words, Grace buries her head in his shoulder, savouring the warmth and closeness radiating from him.

Circling his arms around her waist, Neil pulls her closer again. Kissing her hair, they stand there content in each others arms for a few moments. "Right, now that's all sorted, did you fancy going out?" he chuckles into her hair.

Lifting her head up, face still showing an impressive blush, she asks where they are going.

"Well, I thought, as it's a nice day, a picnic sounded like a good idea," Seeing her face light up, Neil knows he chose right. "Shall we get going?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They drive to a park about 40 minutes away, well away from Sun Hill, so no-one will recognise them.

Parking the car, Neil grabs a basket he prepared earlier and a blanket. Holding them in one hand he grabs Grace's with the other, and they start to walk into the park.

"Do you come to this park often?" Grace asks him as they amble through the field.

"A few times. I use to bring Jake here quite a lot before- before he got ill." Neil replies, ignoring the definite crack in his voice and frowning down at the grass.

Squeezing his hand comfortingly, Grace replies. "Well, thank you for sharing this place with me." She smiles at him when he looks up. Neil just smiles gently in acknowledgement.

Finding a nice shaded area under a big oak tree, they set up the blanket and get the food out.

"I can't remember the last time I went on a picnic," Grace muses whilst lying back on the blanket. Popping a grape in her mouth she carries on, "This was a great idea." She smiles up at him.

Lying down on his side, Neil props himself up on one arm to face her. "I'm glad you like it," he says softly, eyes twinkling confidently. _Thank god! It took me long enough to think of this!_

Laying down to enjoy the rarity of sun, they both relax, eat and chat with each other about anything and everything, including work.

_I can't remember the last time he has laughed this much,_ Grace smiles to herself.

Rolling onto her side, she also props herself up on her arm so she's facing him. "This was a really good idea," She tells him.

"Yeah, sorry it has taken me so long," Neil smiles back at her. Looking at his watch, he sees that it's three o'clock already. "Time flies when you're having fun," Neil murmurs to himself.

Seeing Neil look at his watch, Grace naturally assumes that he has somewhere else to be. _I suppose it can't last all day._ "Do you need to go?" She motions to his watch.

He shakes his head. "Nope, not at all." Flicking his eyes down Neil begins to play with a loose thread on the blanket, "I- uh, I have something else planned for this evening, if, umm, if you're not busy?" _Am I being too forward with planning a whole day? Maybe I should not of assumed, she most likely has plans. Damn._ He silently berates himself. _Stop getting ahead of yourself man, this _is_ the first date!_

_He looks so cute when he's nervous. _She smiles to herself. "What have you got planned?" Watching his head snap back up, Grace grins and raises an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, you don't have plans? I mean I have already taken up your time. I understand if you don't want to spend it with me," Stumbling his words out. _Oh my god, can you _sound_ any worse? _Flopping back onto the blanket with a pathetic groan, Neil screws his eyes up and covers his head with his arm. _She must think I am a right fool. Well, can you blame her? Shut up. _His mind argued with him.

Hearing Grace chuckling lightly brings Neil out of his self bashing. "You're not normally like this." He hears. Looking up, he sees Grace smiling down at him.

"No, and I blame you for it," He laughs, and then turns serious. "But seriously, are you sure? I mean, if you don't want to do anything this evening then you don't have to," He searches her face for an answer.

Smiling warmly at him, Grace tells him its fine. "Right. Well then, tonight is some-what of a surprise, but it doesn't start 'till seven, so we have a few hours to kill until then." He jiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Interested piqued, Grace questions him. "Oh a surprise eh. You going to give me a clue?"

Shaking his head, Neil grins and sits up. "Nope, no way. I do have something in mind that we can do until seven though."

Still laying down, Grace watches him. "Will you tell me what that is at least?" She knows she sounds whiny. She doesn't care.

Kneeling on the blanket Neil starts packing the left over food back into the picnic basket. "Nope, I'll show you instead." Standing up Neil hovers over Grace and puts his arm out to help her up.

Grabbing his offered arm with her good hand she allows him to pull her up. Standing so close to him she is overcome with his cologne. _God, he does smell really good._ Breathing in deeply Grace savours his smell. Looking up she sees Neil staring at her intently with his deep brown eyes. They really were the portal to the soul. Not wanting to break the contact with him, Grace stays still, curiously watching him.

" I...I can't believe that I nearly lost you, I don't- I don't know what I would have done if-" Choking on his words Neil cannot finish. He closes his eyes, trying to banish the dark thoughts from his mind.

Bringing her hand up, Grace runs her fingers along his jaw, "Shh. We can't keep thinking like that; what's done is done. There's no point in kicking yourself, you can't blame yourself. And, I'm still here." When he still kept his eyes closed Grace takes a deep breath and carries on. "We need to look towards the future now, together." Biting her lip Grace waits until Neil opens his eyes again. Seeing his eyes filled with water, and his breathing uneven, she steps forward and put hers arm around him. Feeling his arms close around her Grace tightens her hold on him.

Breathing in her scent to calm his breathing, Neil gains control of his emotions. "Sorry," he whispers into her hair. Chuckling ruefully, he pulls back from her and swipes at his eyes, sniffling slightly. "Look at me! You're the one that was injured and put in a dangerous position, and you're all calm about it!" He exclaims. Seeing her smile lightly, he carries on. "It's just… I mean, so much has happened lately, I don't want to lose you now that I have you. Even when I didn't…"

"I know what you mean. Let's just forget about what has happened as of late, and concentrate on the future." Grace tells him. Seeing him nod Grace places a kiss on his lips, which, in turn, gets the response she was after:_ that _smile.

"Yup, I will _never_ tire of that," Neil breathes when they pull apart. Bringing himself together, Neil grabs the basket and Graces hand and heads back to the car. "Come on, onto the next part, should be fun," Neil says giddily.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ice skating?" Grace says disbelievingly, eyeing Neil up.

"What's wrong with that?" He asks her. _Don't tell me she hates it… Maybe its because of her arm… Should she even be doing it with her arm! Argh!_

"Nothing, nothing," Grace says looking down at the floor, "I've, ah, just never been ice skating before."

He squints at her. "Seriously?" He asks, surprised. She could tell he was surprised; his eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. "Well, today's the day where you learn then." Grabbing her hand, Neil leads her into the ice rink.

After donning their skates they make their way to the edge of the rink. "Alright, it's not that bad. I'll be here the whole time so you won't fall over," He squeezes her hand in comfort.

_Won't fall over, yeah right._ All Grace can do is smile nervously at him. Letting him pull her onto the rink, she holds onto his hands in a death grip. She tries to balance –unsuccessfully- on the ice. Slipping and sliding everywhere, she really would have fallen over if it wasn't for Neil holding her good hand, her bad one clutched to her chest. _I'm barely 2 feet onto the ice, this is ridiculous! How hard can it be?_

_I wonder if this is a good idea, _Neil ponders seeing Grace frowning,"Try to relax Grace; it tends to be a bit easier when you do," Seeing her nod, Neil pulls her further onto the ice.

_Well, this isn't too bad._ Grace thinks as she lets Neil pulls her slowly around the ice rink, dodging the other people.

"Okay, now you're going to try skating, not just letting me pull you along," Neil laughs.

Nodding her head in concentration, Grace puts one foot out in front of her. Stepping off of her other foot,_ okay, that's it, nice and slow and- crap!_ Grace thinks as her foot slips out from under her.

Seeing Grace start to fall, Neil grabs hold of her waist. Pulling her to him, he feels her hands grip onto his shirt for dear life. He chuckles at her, puling her closer.

"I think I'll stay here like this, if you don't mind." Grace replied, seeing at the distance she'd have to travel to get back to solid, non-slippery flooring.

Taking pity on her, Neil pulls her over to the edge. "Maybe I should have checked with you first. I just wanted us to have some fun, you know?"

_He must have gone to a lot of trouble thinking of this up._ "No, no, I am having fun, I've just got to get used to it, that's all. Practise, right?" She shifts so that she's not clinging desperately to him, and clasps his hand. "As long as you promise not to let go of me, I'll keep on trying."

"I'll never let go of you," He says seriously, pulling her closer. He holds her for a moment, basking._ I can't believe how lucky I am_.

The next couple of hours go by quickly, and with Neil being a patient teacher, Grace starts to get a hold of skating and by the end of their time, Grace starts to skate by herself. Although, Neil was still hovering close by.

"I can't believe it Grace, you're doing great!" Neil exclaims, gleefully skating up to her. He picks her up, revelling in her surprised yelp and the fact that she immediately encircled her arms around his neck. Spinning them around Neil can't help but grin in happiness.

After a while he realizes that they're just standing together on the ice, hugging. Neil keeps firm hold of her so she doesn't fall over. _Yeah, that's right. Who are you kidding; you just can't get enough of her!_

Standing there watching him, Grace grins. "I've had fun today Neil. Thank you," She smiles warmly.

He smiles back. "Me, too. Bu~ut, the day isn't over yet…" His eyes sparkle. "Come on, let's get these skates off."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It takes about twenty minutes before Grace realizes that they're going back to the park. She shoots Neil a questioning look, but trying not to look too curious. Grinning at her, Neil parks the car and gets out. He whips around and is helping her out before she even registered it. Holding onto her hand he grabs the blanket once again from the boot and leads her back into the park.

Unable to take the silence anymore, Grace has to ask. "What are we doing here again? It's getting a bit dark for a picnic now," she teases.

"You'll find out in a minute," He tells her. They go a different way, heading towards a small tree.

"Oh," Grace murmurs when she spies it: a big screen and projector. _An outdoor cinema, eh?_ "I didn't think they did these anymore," She smiles as he leads her.

_Good choice Neil. _His inner mind praises him upon seeing Grace's face light up. "Yeah, I found it a few months back, they do a showing here once a month. They show some good films," Stopping at the tree, Neil places the blanket down on the ground, and make sure that they have a good view before he sits down.

He motions for her to join him on the blanket. "Does it get quite busy here?" Grace enquires, settling herself down next to him.

"It will do, we're pretty early, but it'll fill up soon." Neil tells her, shifting position. "Are you hungry?" At her affirmative answer, he tells her to wait there while he scurries off.

Sitting on the blanket, she watches Neil wander off into the park towards some stalls that had been set up. _My god, I can't believe he thought of all this. Who knew he was like this?_ After a few moments, she spies Neil walking back to her with hands full of something.

Kneeling on the blanket Neil hands her some food "Dinner is served..." He trails off. Waiting until she takes it, he sits down next to her. _Can you get any closer? _His mind asked sarcastically when he realised how close he was sitting.

Tucking into the chips and burgers Neil got, they both ate in comfortable silence. Hearing an announcement that the film is about to start they both got comfortable, leaning against the tree, shoulder to shoulder.

About an hour into the film, Neil starts to notice Grace shivering lightly. It was hard to miss really, what with being smooshed together like this. _Damn, I should have made her pick up a coat. _Lifting his arm up, he whispers to her. "Come here,"

Looking over and seeing his offer, Grace bites down a smile. "Thanks, I forgot to grab a jacket," Leaning against him, she savours his warmth and lays her head on his shoulder, snuggling even closer.

"No problem what-so-ever," Pulling her closer so her body is flusher –if that was possible- with his, Neil sighs contently, wrapping his arm around her. _Thank god she forgot a jacket._ He grins.

Watching the rest of the film like that, Neil pouts when it ends after feeling Grace start to get off of him. It was only then that he realized that she was literally sitting in his lap. Probably a good thing that she got off when she did. "Well I guess I'd better take you home, I can't keep you out all night," He chuckles.

"I suppose so," she replies lightly. _I'd rather stay here though_. Getting up, she waits until Neil joins her before she grabs the blanket, folding it and draping it over her arm. Heading back to the car, Neil places his left hand on her lower back, guiding her.

Starting the car up, Neil puts the radio on as a distraction. About half way into the journey, he notices Grace is very quiet. Looking over, he realises that she has fallen asleep. Smiling at her, he slows down a bit, as not to wake her. _She is even more beautiful. So peaceful when asleep._

Pulling up outside the apartment, Neil turns off the ignition. Turning in his seat quietly, he gently pushes the strand of hair which is covering her eye to behind her ear. Tracing his finger along her face, Neil sighs when he realizes he has to wake her up. "Grace," he whispers. Seeing her move in her seat, he holds his breath but she just shifts over. He calls her name again a bit louder. This time it does the trick and she slowly wakes up.

Blinking a few times, it takes a few seconds to remember where she was. She blushes deeply when she figures she fell asleep on him. "Sorry. I guess I was more tired than I thought,"

"No problem. Let me walk you to your door," Neil half-pleads, hurriedly getting out of the car before she can say 'no'.

Standing in front of her front door, Neil puts his hands in his pockets and leans back on his heels. "Well, I had fun today," _D'oh. You moron! Is that all you can think of to say?_

Ducking her head, she nods shyly. "Me too, I had a really good day, thank you." she smiles warmly.

"Did you fancy doing something tomorrow?" Neil rushes his words out _clingy much._ He thinks to himself.

_So sweet._ "I would, but I have a lunch date tomorrow already," Grace tells him, regrettably.

Snapping his head up all he manages to cover a surprised yip, with a manly word. Mhm. "Oh," _A lunch date, did I misunderstand what was happening between us? She has another guy! Well, what did you expect? That's what you get when you wait so long. _He was beginning to think he was crazy, having conversations with his own mind.

Seeing Neil getting slightly upset, Grace takes pity on him and doesn't tease him anymore. _Well that was a bit harsh anyway, Grace._ "With Jo..." Grace trails off. Seeing that it doesn't change his reaction, Grace smothers a chuckle. "Jo Masters…" She says with a smile on her lips.

Realization dawning on his face, along with quite an impressive blush, Neil brings his hand up to scrub over his face. _You dick! She must think you're a right fool now. Well, do you blame her? Really?_ Hearing her covering a series of snorts, he looks up at her her. He blushes further when he sees that she's covering her mouth to try to quell her laughter, which just seemed to come out even harder.

"Sorry, I-I couldn't help it," She blinks away the tears that had gathered. Her laughter dies on her lips when she realizes that Neil has stepped closer to her. With her door still closed, Grace has no where to go. _Pshaw, like you would move anyway._ Grace licks her lips in preparation to what she knew was coming. _Perfect way to end the night_.

He closes the gap between them, kissing her lightly. Pushing her up against the door he places his hand beside her head so he was leaning on the door, and the other cupping her face. The kiss was slow and intense, much different to the other kisses they had shared, filled with promise, security. _Love? _

Breaking apart, Neil doesn't move from his position. "If I can't see you tomorrow, I thought I'd leave you with a lasting impression," He grins at her.

"Well, I may have to arrange something for tomorrow," Grace whispers, trying to control her breathing and rising libido. "Otherwise, when we go back to work, we're not going to be able to concentrate properly," She grins. _Geez, I can practically feel my pupils dilating._

"Yeah, we'll have to fix that, but not tonight. Later," Neil tells her seriously.

Agreeing with him, she nods. Gently, as to not dislodge the hand he had still cupping her jaw. "Mmm. I guess this is goodnight then," _Please say no, ask to stay!_

"Yeah. I'll call you tomorrow?" He asks, fiddling with a strand of her hair. _Can't you keep your hands off her man?_

"Can't wait," Giving him a soft, lingering kiss, she stifles a whimper when he pulls back. She clears her throat, "I've had a great day today, thank you- again."

"I'm glad you liked it," He smiles seductively, "Goodnight." Stepping away from her, Neil waits until she enters the flat and closes the door. "Goodnight," he whispers to himself. He heads back to his car happily.

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. For those who love Jo, she will be up in the next chapter.**

**Please R & R.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Next chapter guys hope you like it.**

**A massive thank you to my beta reader Laura, she truly is a goddess with putting up with my work. Thank you!**

**Thank you to all of my reviews they put a smile on my face when I see my emails. **

Sitting in a café waiting for Jo, Grace smiles at her phone.

**Hey u, r u **

**having a gd**

**day? :)**

She busily types back as fast as her thumbs can manage, a grin across her face.

**Yes ty, just**

**waiting on**

**Jo. u? :)**

A couple of minutes go past and she patiently sips her coffee, watching the phone.

**I'm gd ty,**

**am gonna**

**c Jake 2day.**

**Hav fun wit**

**Jo. x.**

She spots Jo, but can't resist replying. She types fast, keeping one eye on the screen and the other on Jo's progress.

**Will do**

**hav fun**

**wit Jake.**

**Tlk l8r. x**

Putting her phone away, she waves to get Jo's attention.

She stands up and hugs Jo. "How're you?" They suit down opposite each other, and Grace points to the other coffee she'd gotten.

"Good thanks, you?" Jo asks her, a knowing smile tugging at her lips. She wanted to question Grace more, but deciding that pushing it might just make her clam up.

Grace smirks, already knowing what her colleague wants to know. Teasing her, Grace plays along. "I'm good thanks. I've not done much today, but my arm's feeling much better now, for which I'm grateful for," The waiter appears, breaking up the conversation.

After ordering and talking about _nothing _for about ten minutes_, _Jo can't contain herself anymore. "So… Tell me, how was yesterday? What'cha do? Are you going out again? What's he like out of work? Fill me in on the gritty details," Jo asks eagerly, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Laughing, Grace fills Jo in as to what happened yesterday. Chatting away and enjoying lunch, Jo can't get enough, and has no qualms about talking with her mouth full. "Oh my god, I can't believe how much of a gentlemen he is! Who would have thought eh," She smirks, stuffing more of her Tuna sandwich in. "Wish I had a girl like that," She mumbles. "So… You seeing him today?" She smirked knowingly.

Blushing, Grace answers her coffee, staring into it intently. "I don't know; he's seeing Jake today, and we have work tomorrow…" She takes a sip to fill the silence.

"So, how serious is it then?" Jo asks. Grace frowns slightly, so Jo reaches out and grabs her hand. "Hey,"

Grace squeezes back, a troubled look gracing her features. "I don't know really… there's so much he doesn't know about me, my past…" Grace falters, peering out into the street. "He's been through so much lately, I don't know if I should burden him," she mumbles, leaning back into her chair and dropping Jo's comforting hand.

"So he doesn't know about…" Jo motions into the empty air, raising her eyebrows.

Grace shakes her head. "No, he doesn't. Only the Super knows; I ah, -requested- that no one else know." She fiddles self-consciously with her fingers.

"He'll… He gets out soon though, doesn't he?" Jo asks, frowning. "Maybe you should tell him now, before… I don't know. Just better sooner than later."

"Yeah actually, couple of weeks. It would have been 6 years," She sighs, "It's gone by so fast. Scary really. I ah- I don't know," She huffs, looking to her friend for guidance.

"Trust him. Tell him, I think he'll understand. Besides, who knows where you guys are heading? It may be best to let him know now," Jo repeats cautiously. "Plus… If he's out in a couple of weeks, then you may need to look at risk assessment, you may have no choice but to tell him."

Grace reluctantly nods. "I guess you're right. Its for the best, this way he can jump ship before he gets in too deep," she sighs unhappily. _Why does my past always mess things up? Why can't things be easy?_ Even her inner voice sounds defeated.

Seeing Grace getting upset, Jo attempts to cheer her up. "Hey girl, that man is already too deep, there aint no way he's leaving you, at least not without a fight. A fist fight," She laughs, trying to clear the mood a bit. Getting the desired response, twinned with a light blush, Jo laughs louder, drawing attention from the other patrons. Jo didn't seem to care. "You both are already in so deep, you don't even know it."

Shaking her head Grace tries to deny it, "Don't even go there, we've only been on one official date!" She laughs, trying to put her worries in the back of her mind.

"Yeah, and you have this silly grin on your face that hasn't moved all day, so, care to share who you were texting before I got here?" She laughs louder, raising a few eyebrows. "Yep, that's the one!" She says, spying the grin again. Grace goes to reply but her phones bleeps. "Oooo, zat lover boy_?_" she says in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, stop it," Grace blushes, digging out her phone from her bag. Seeing who sent the text, her face flames in embarrassment as her eyes dart up to Jo, who sat smirking, arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh, it is, isn't it? Am I keeping you away from him? You shoulda said," She laughs uncontrollably, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Grace buries her head in her hands, trying to get the heat to go from her face. "So," Jo asks with an undertone of amusement, "What does he say then?" She asks, peering at Graces' phone.

Grace sighs exasperatedly, and rolls her eyes. She moves the phone so that Jo can't see it and scans it quickly.

**Hey u, hope**

**I'm not**

**interrupting,**

**jus seeing if**

**u r havin**

**fun and if u**

**fancy meeting**

**up 2nite? X**

Sub-consciously grinning, she ignores the fact that Jo's trying to read over her shoulder and texts back excitedly.

_**am havin fun**_

_**ty, bein **_

_**interrogated**_

_**by Jo, how **_

_**was Jake?**_

_**we can meet**_

_**up 2nite, **_

_**what do you**_

_**have in mind?**_

_**X**_

Sending the text, she looks up and sees Jo grinning like mad at her. Grace scowls and drinks some more coffee, keeping one ear on the phone and the other on Jo.

"Have you heard _anything_ I've said the past few minutes?" Jo asks. Taking the silence as a 'no', she bursts into laughter again, attracting even more attention, and again, acting oblivious to it. "My god, if you're like this when you just text him, what are you like when you're together?" She giggles when Grace responds with another scowl. "I'm going to have so much fun with you, girl! So, what did he say?"

"…" She sighs when Jo keeps looking at her expectantly, and tried futilely to keep the warmth from her face. "He, uhh, he wants to meet up tonight,"

"And…?"

"And nothing. I said yes, and I'm waiting for a reply." Grace tells her, "My god, how do you survive without gossip?" she laughs. Her phone bleeps again, distracting her from answering the snort from her colleague. Jo tries to peek at the phone, but is unsuccessful when Grace moves it with an undignified squeak.

_**Jake was gd**_

_**ty, bein **_

_**interrogated**_

_**by Jo sounds**_

_**painful. I can**_

_**pic u up 6**_

_**get sum din?**_

_**X**_

She laughs softly, getting a raised eyebrow from Jo. "He thinks being interrogated by you is painful," She explains. She texts back with the affirmative and locks her phone, placing it back in her bag.

They picked up chatting about work and Jo's life for a little while, and had a few more coffees before parting ways. "I'll see you in a few days. Remember Grace, tell him tonight. I'll give you a call later to find out how it went. Alright?" She asks, using her 'I am a leader' voice. Grace nodded and Jo gave her a hug, leaving the café.

Walking back to her flat, Grace texts Neil, crossing her fingers for a fast reply.

_**So wot do u**_

_**hav in mind**_

_**4 din 2nite?**_

She smiled when her mind conjured up all sorts of naughty images. Her smile got even wider when she hears her phone ringing.

"Hi," She answers on the first ring, a smile in her voice.

"Hey," he answers. She can practically see the grin on his face. "I prefer talking on the phone with you than texting," he explains.

"Fair enough. So, what do you have in mind for tonight?" She asks, slowing down her pace when her flat came into sight.

"Well, I thought dinner at my place? I'll cook," Neil offers, a tinge of hopefulness lacing his words.

"Sounds good,"

"Well, I suppose I'd better go and grab some food then, if I'm cooking," Neil chuckles. "Is six still okay?"

"Yeah, its fine. See you then," Grace replies, smiling through the phone.

"Bye," Neil says softly into the phone.

"Bye," Grace replies ending the call after a few moments of silence.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Doing odd bits around the flat makes the time fly by for Grace, and before she knows it, Neil's escorting her to his car, taking her for dinner.

Pulling up outside his house, Neil turns to Grace, noticing that she's been very quiet throughout the journey. "You okay?"

Seeing her nod in reply, Neil lets it slide for the moment. "Come on then, lets go in." Neil helps her out of the car. Standing in front of his house, Grace is slightly surprised at the look of it.

"Wow," She breathes, awed. Turning to Neil she sees him studying his shoes and rubbing the back of his neck. "This is your place?" _Do'i, he's not gonna bring you to a random persons' place is he? How stupid do you sound, moron._

Seeing her roll her eyes at her own question, Neil laughs lightly, scuffling his shoes against the pathway. "Yeah. It was my uncles', but he left it to me about 4 years ago now. Its, well, home…" He shrugs, looking up at the red bricked building.

"Wow," she murmurs. Chuckling, Neil leads her into the house. After touring the house, they end up in the kitchen, with Grace watching Neil cook. "You're good," she complements after a few moments of watching.

He sniggers, "Wait until you try it to say anything; I don't think you'll be complementing the chef then," he says, hanging the tea towel over his shoulder.

With dinner prepared and served, they both tucked into the meal. "Nope you're wrong; that was very, very good." Grace compliments once they finish. After clearing up, -but not washing the dishes- they both end up on the couch.

Taking a shaky breath, Grace turns to Neil. "I-uh, I need to talk with you…" She avoids his gaze, fiddling with her hands.

"… Erm, okay," He turns his body to face her on the sofa. He thinks about it for a second and lays his arm on the sofa behind her. _Is she having second thoughts? Have I done something wrong? Damn, I'm coming on too strong._

"I need t- I need to know where this is going," She waves her arm in the air, "To go between us," Grace keeps her eye fixated on her hands, trying to ignore his gaze she can feel currently burning into her.

Playing with a loose strand of her hair, Neil thinks carefully before answering. _Well, that wasn't what I was expecting._ "The honest answer? I don't know," Seeing her close her eyes he hurriedly carries on, words become closer together in his speed. "But, I do know that I want to find out. Together." Hearing her sigh sadly, Neil asks his own question. "What's wrong Grace?"

Looking up, she studied him for a few seconds. _Should I tell him? Does he need to know? Well, you're asking questions that you already know the answer to. _"I need to tell you something… About my past… And once you hear what I have to say, I'll let you decide whether you still want to, well- ya know," she shrugs. Seeing a curious look on his face, Grace delves on.

"It started eight years ago. I was working on a case, there was this guy; Michael Pearson, who I had to interview a few times. He, ah, he started to follow me, calling me a lot." She pauses, thinking. Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she carried on before she could stop herself.

"It got to the point where he was harassing me, stalking me obsessively. It took a while, but he was charged with harassment. Got sent down for a year. I thought that would be the end of it, but I was naïve. He was released within eight months, with conditions… Not that they did much."

Breathing deeply, she carries on. "About a month after he got released, he broke into my flat, waited for me. When I- when I got h-h-ome that day, he-" Grace chokes on the last part. Standing up abruptly, she walks to a window and wraps her arms around her midsection. She starts again quickly before she could back out.

"He kidnapped me, held me for ten hours. He ranted and raved, threatened me and my family; he was in some deluded world, thought I was madly in love with him. I don't really remember much, but when they found me I, ah, lost a lot of blood; he beat me up a bit. I was in hospital for a week. He got sentenced for ten years, but even in prison it didn't help. He had a lot of friends on the outside still."

She blinked a few times. "I got threats every week, my family got threatened as well. I got attacked a couple of times, courteously of Pearson. In the end he still made my life hell, and that's why I transferred to Sun Hill: to start afresh. Somehow," she sighs, "He got parole. He gets out in the next couple of weeks, he-he always said when he got out he'd find me. That was the most terrifying time of my life; I will never forget it, ever." Grace trails off. Feeling Neil's eyes bore into the back of her skull, she hangs her head when he doesn't say anything for a moment.

_There he goes again, messing my life up once more._ Sighing, she turns around and sees Neil looking down at the floor, his face all scrunched up. _Good things never last with me._ Walking past him she says softly, "I'll see myself out," Gathering her belongings up, Grace goes to the door, but stops when she feels a presence behind her. Turning around she sees Neil standing there staring at her, a calculating look on his face.

Grabbing her and crushing her body to his, he hugs her tightly. Grace can't help but cling to him, burying her head in his shoulder. "You're not going anywhere," he whispers. "I'll keep you safe," He kisses the top of her head, tightening his grip when he hears her stifle a sob. _I'll keep her safe._ His mind growls.

Feeling Grace start pull away, Neil tries to keep her in his arms with little success. "No. You don't need these problems; you're already dealing with enough, you don't need me making your life worse," Shaking her head she pulls out of his arms completely. _I can't burden him with this. _Wiping her eyes Grace looks at him. "Just forget what I said, look… maybe we should just forget this," She closes her eyes shamefully. _It's for the best really, he'll only get hurt._

"No!" Neil yelps, staring at her with wide eyes and searching her face. _No, I know she doesn't want to end this. She can't. _"Grace, these past two days have been the best in a very, very long time, and that's all because of you! I'm not gonna lose you now!" He exclaims. "I don't care about your past; we can deal with it. Together." Grabbing her hand and squeezes it tightly, his deep brown eyes watching her teary ones.

"I don't want you to get hurt," Grace whispers, "Everyone close to me gets hurt eventually, I don't want you to as well…" she trails off. Leaning back on the door she closes her eyes and huffs. _Please don't argue, I don't think I could take it._

Seeing her resolve crumbling Neil tries again, letting some of the despair into his voice. "Please Grace, I care about you. A lot. I'm not walking away from this. From _us,_" Watching her shoulders relax slightly. It's not enough though. "Look at me, please Grace, look at me…" He begs, bending his knees to try and catch her eye. "Please," he whimpers.

Grace slowly opens her eyes. The first thing she sees is Neil fighting unshed tears, making his eyes seem almost completely black. _Why does he want me? Why? _

_Thank you, _his mind rejoices slightlywhen he sees her open her eyes. Taking a deep breath and holding both of her hands, he talks speedily. "Thank you for telling me this Grace, I know it was hard, but…thank you for trusting me enough." He pauses briefly. "… I'm not walking away from you; apart from Jake, you are _the_ most important person to me, and I'm not letting you go. No matter how hard you or anyone else tries to make me."

Grace nodded minutely, and he let out a small sigh. Moving a bit closer to her, he raises her chin to get her to look at him. "You don't have to be so strong all the time Grace; I know you're a private person, -so am I- but I want you to trust me. You can always rely on me, no matter what. Okay?" He murmurs.

"I really don't deserve you Neil, I don't know why you want to be with me," Grace says softly.

Kissing her is all Neil can think to do at this moment. Nipping at her bottom lip, he slips his tongue into her mouth to duel with hers. Hands wandering up her arms, down her sides and landing on her hips, he pulls her closer. Feeling Graces' hands not being shy either, confirms he made the right choice. Breaking the kiss, he hovers round her mouth. "Every time you think like that, remember this, okay? Remember me." A nervous smile is all he receives.

"Grace, there's something, something really strong going on between us, and I'll be dammed if anyone tries to take that away from us. My feelings are so, so strong for you, Grace. I-I don't want to lose you-" his voice cracks, and he clears his throat.

"Sorry. I'm just used to being on my own, and not used to sharing… stuff, with other people," She smiles sadly at him. _I really don't deserve him._ Playing with the hair at the back of his neck, Grace becomes shy.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to help you change then," He replies huskily. Closing the gap again, he captures Graces' lips. After only a few seconds, Neil pulls away. Hearing Grace whimper slightly at the loss of contact, Neil kisses the corner of her mouth. "If we carry on like this," He pants, "Then I won't be taking you home, and we won't be going to work tomorrow, and I'll be keeping you here all day," he growls, resting his forehead against hers.

Blushing, Grace puts her head on his chest. Savouring his warmth and smells she sighs softly. "What makes you think I don't want that?" she whispers rhetorically. Feeling his arms wrap around her tighter, she closes her eyes and breathes in all that is Neil Manson.

"Now that would get the office talking," Neil chuckles, breaking the tension. Feeling Grace shake with laughter, he smiles.

"I'd better get you home. We've got to be up early tomorrow," Neil sighs regrettably, reluctantly pulling away. Seeing her nod in agreement, he steps backward from her arms.

Getting his keys, he leads them to his car. Far too quickly they arrive back at Grace's flat. Turning the ignition off and scurrying around the car to help her out, Neil walks her to the door. She turns around after opening the door, and smiles warmly at him.

"Tomorrow is going to be so hard," Neil whines. Seeing the raised eyebrow, he adds to that statement. "I won't be able to touch you, or hold you, or… kiss you," He grins when she blushes.

"Yeah… Are we still going to keep this between us for a while? I know I told Jo, but…" Grace stumbles with her words. A finger on her lips prevents her from saying anything else. _Thankfully. Could you choke anymore?_

"It's fine; we already agreed that we'd keep it between us, and it's fine with me." He assures her, flashing a small smile. "Still, it's going to be hard when I can't kiss you," He steps a little closer. "So, I'd better make this one last, hadn't I?" He breathes, capturing her lips.

Bringing her flush with his body, he groans loudly; feeling Graces' body mould with his perfectly drives him crazy. _I can't wait until we have nothing in between us_. Hearing Grace moan, Neil smiles into the kiss. _Guess I'm not the only one. _Ending the passionate kiss slowly, Neil grins at her, noting her dilated pupils with glee. "Mmm, that'll do for the moment," He runs his fingers along her hips. "I'll let you get some sleep and see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Grace." Kissing her cheek, he steps away from her.

"Night, Neil," Grace smiles, ignoring the warm feeling in her belly. Closing the door and putting the kettle on, Grace goes to call Jo. _She's most likely going mad by now._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Walking into the office the next morning, Grace bites down a smile when she spots Neil peering out of his office and give her a slight smile. _This is going to be an … interesting day. _Spying Banksy by her desk she tries to take her mind off of a certain DI. "Hey. Anything interesting happening today?" She asks, sidling over to Banksy.

"Hey Grace. No, nothing yet; been a pretty slow couple of days actually." He smiles. "Let's hope it stays like that, eh." He chuckles, collecting some paperwork together. Banksy begins to say something else but is interrupted by her desk phone ringing. "Ah, I'll let you get to that," he heads to his desk.

"Hello, DC Dasari speaking?" She answers, sitting down.

"Grace, I need to speak with you. Can you come to my officer please," Jack Meadows' voice comes through.

"Yes Sir, I'll be there right away," she tells him. _Hmmm. That's odd; he rarely calls me to his office. _Putting her bag down and taking her coat off, Grace leaves the office once again.

Entering his office after a quick knock, Grace looks at the Super, bent over an open file on his desk, looking very concerned. Chewing his bottom lip, his frown lines become more prominent on his face. _Oh no is this about the other day? Am I in trouble? Does he know about me and Neil? Oh god, is it against the rules? Shit._ Seeing him look up and make eye contact makes her feel even more nervous.

"Close the door and sit down Grace," He commands. Watching her do what he asked, he lets out a deep sigh when she sits down. "How are you?" He asks, motioning to her arm.

"I'm okay thank you, it's doing really well. I think I'll only have to stay in the office for a few days." She informs him. Seeing him close his eyes and scrub his hand over is face in response makes her worry more. _Wasn't that the right answer?_

"Unfortunately, you'll be staying in the station or a while longer yet. I can't let you out at the moment," Meadows tells her.

"Sir!" Grace yelps in surprise. "I know I may have done wrong with the last op, but why Sir?" She asks him confusedly. _Is this going down on my official record? How long is he keeping me station bound?_

Seeing Grace screw her face up in confusion and worry, he gets up and comes round his desk. Sitting on the chair next to her he takes her hand gently, "Grace this isn't about the other day, you weren't at fault there; Max was. He's the one going to be punished not you," _She honestly believes it's her fault?_

Looking up, now more confused than ever, she asks the obvious question. "… Then why?" _What other possible reason is there for him to keep me in?_

Squeezing her hand gently, he lets go. Grabbing the file from his desk, he opens it in his lap. "This was sent to me yesterday," He glances up to watch her reaction. "It's Pearson's release file." Seeing the realisation dawn on her face he bites the inside of his cheek, trying to keep the worry from his face.

"Oh," She mumbles. "When's he being released?" She asks him quietly.

Closing his eyes briefly, he shuts the file and places it back on the desk. "Tomorrow."

"What? So soon? Why didn't they tell me sooner? I mean, what about his pre-risk assessment?" Grace starts to panic. _Does he know I have transferred boroughs? What's going to happen now? I need to get out of here; I need to warn my family. Oh God, my family! _Staring at the floor, Grace frowns trying to figure everything out and keep her heartbeat regular.

"Grace, he's already been assessed by his psychologist, they've put him down as low risk. He'll have strict conditions as to not to make contact with you or your family, but hopefully the psychologist has it correct and you won't need to worry." Seeing Grace shake her head slightly he gives her a sad smile, knowing full well that this guy was trouble and he wouldn't stay quiet.

"I'll do everything I can to keep you safe if he gets wind of where you are now. I know what he's like, obviously, and I will not let him hurt you again," Meadows tells her. She nods, but he doubts that she's heard anything he'd said. He sighs.

"Is there anyone else who knows about him?" he asks. _It may be a lot easier if someone knows what she'll be going through these next few weeks._

That question seems to bring her out of her thoughts. "What? Oh, yeah, Jo knows, she's known for a few months now. And Neil- DI Manson knows; I told him recently."

Hearing her slip up makes a small smile flicker across his face. _Things are moving along then eh? About bloody time._ "Well I'm glad that they know. Did you want me to tell them that he's out, or did you want to do that?" He asks, sitting back behind his desk.

"Oh… Uhm, do you mind doing it? It's just, I would like to make a few phone calls, get some things sorted out." Pausing "Erm, can I ask a quick favour though?" getting a nod she continues "the D.I doesn't know the full details, would you be able to fill him in" Grace asks him

"Not a problem Grace, not a problem…" Meadow pauses, "If… you need anything Grace, anything at all, just ask, okay?" Seeing her nod, he dismisses her.

Watching her go, he calls Neil and Jo to come to his office.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Walking out of HMP BELMARSH dressed in the clothes he wore when he went in, anyone looking at him would think '_not half bad,_ _shame he's walking out of prison.'_ Standing at the entrance in black jeans, dark blue shirt partly done up, a well defined chest underneath, matched with short brown hair and a tanned complexion, stood Michael Pearson. A holdall in his left hand, he takes a puff of his cigarette whilst waiting.

Pulling up a few minutes later, a 'clapped out' old banger of a car beeps its horn.

"Nice ride," Pearson tells the driver. Throwing his bag in the back seat, he gets comfortable in the seat. Feeling the car move off, Pearson gets handed a file. Opening the manila file, a handful of documents lay there, some hand written, some printed.

Sitting on top of the documents is what captures Pearson's eye though; A single picture, the person who put him there. _I'll see you soon my love, we'll be together soon. _Placing a soft kiss on the picture he places it back in the file, closing it. _Forever._

A wide grin spread across his face and he relaxed back into the seat.

**Thank you for getting this far. Hope you enjoyed it! **

**The little plot won't be going on for too long maybe a couple of chapters, then some more fluff. **

**Please R & R !**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey all, hope you are all still enjoying this. As you can see the next chapter has arrived.**

**Just another big thanks to my beta reader Laura, she does spend a lot of time on these- so big round of applause to her!**

**Thank you to all of my reviewers for taking the time to pop a review on here. **

**Enjoy**

Walking into the office, Neil realizes that Jo's there as well. Greeting Meadows, he takes the pro-offered seat.

"I think you can guess why I've called you both here," Meadow says, looking at both of them. He was expecting an answer, but all he received was two nervous looks.

Unable to resist teasing them a bit once he realized what the silence was about, he squares his shoulders. "You both look rather nervous… Got something to hide?" he masks a smile behind a fake yawn at their horrified faces.

_Oh god, does he know about me and Grace? Is he going to object to us? It's not against policy though... Crap._ Neil thinks, trying not to fidget.

_Does he know about Max? Terry didn't say anything about going to the super. Damn._ Jo thinks to herself.

Seeing both of them lost in their own thoughts makes Jack wonder what's going on in the station that he doesn't know about. "It's to do with Grace," _Ah, that got their attention, _he smirks when both of their heads snap up. "I've only called you both in here because Grace asked me to."

Tapping on the file on his desk, he draws their eyes to it. "Michael Pearson is being released." Their reactions would have been quite funny if the circumstances weren't so dire; Jo's mouth hung open whilst she blinked slowly, and Neil became very ashen. _If that were possible_.

Jo was the first to recover, snapping her mouth shut with an audible click. "Where _is_ Grace?" She glances around the office as if she was hiding in there.

"She's making a few phone calls," Jack says, eyeing Neil.

"I've gotta find her," Jo says, standing up. Seeing her dismissal Jo leaves the office.

Turning to look fully at Neil, Jack sees that he's not moved positions. He doesn't even look like he's breathing. "Neil, I don't know how much Grace told you, but this guy is a piece of work; he's _not _to be messed with. He's going to be extremely annoyed."

Neil flicks his eyes around the room briefly, before settling them back on the Super. "She, uh, Grace told me that he'd harassed her and got sent down, but when he was released he held her hostage. Oh, and she ended up spending a week in hospital."

Knowing that Neil wouldn't leave the office without more information, Jack sits forward and peers at him. "During her capture, he drugged her; she only remembers bits, which I suppose in hindsight is a good thing…" Jack drops his eyes to the file on the desk. "When she was found, she had a hell of a lot of injuries. Wh-when she was being treated at the hospital, they found out that… that she had, she'd been ra-raped," Jack falters at the end, swallowing a few times and flicking his eyes back up to Neil.

If looks could kill, then Neil would surely have killed an army by now. When he spoke, his voice was so low that it was chilling. "How. The. Hell. Is he getting out then? Kidnapping, assault… _Rape_ - what, why is he even being released?" His voice raised an octave.

"She was drugged Neil, you know that we can't use a witness statement from victims who've been drugged. Grace could barely remember anything, let alone the rape; they weren't able to convict him as there was not enough evidence. Plus, he had a very good barrister. He got ten years, but he knows how to play the system. He was the model prisoner; he knew that he'd get out sooner if he behaved." Seeing Neil turn from white to red in anger, Jack hopes that he didn't ruin their chances.

"Neil, Grace is going to need all of the support she can get; this is going to be a tough time for her." _I feel like her bloody father, _He inwardly snorts_._

"Don't worry Sir, I- we'll be there for her," Neil says, hoping that the Super didn't notice his slip up._ No such luck,_ He thought wryly when he saw the smirk on the older mans face.

_Should I say something? Or leave it? I know I can trust them… It's my place to say something. _Meadows argues with himself. "Neil," He pauses, thinking his words through. "Remember the talk we had a little while ago, about favouring Grace with work?"

_Oh god… _He visibly withers in the seat."Yes…"

"Look, I won't beat around the bush; everyone in this station knows that you two are closer to each other than anyone else." He puts his hand up when he sees Neil open his mouth, "It doesn't bother me Neil; as long as it doesn't interfere with work, I don't care what you do outside. Understood?" He says.

"Yes sir," Neil replies meekly.

Jack sighs and slides Pearsons' file over the desk. "I guess you'll want to look over this,"

"Thank you, Sir." Neil flashes a small smile. He pauses at the door and turns to face the Super. "Thank you, Jack." He corrects himself. With that, he leaves the office speedily.

"Go look after her, Neil," Jack says quietly to the office. Leaning back in his chair, he scrubs a hand over his face. _This is going to be an… Interesting, time._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Walking back up the stairs to the CID office, Neil encounters Jo leaving it. "Hey, have you seen Grace?" she asks, a little hurriedly. Getting a negative shake of the head, Jo pulls out her mobile. "She isn't answering her phone," Jo huffs and stuffs the phone angrily into her pocket. "It just goes to voicemail!" She looks up at him as if it was his fault.

"She's probably calling her family like the Super said," As soon as those words left his mouth, Grace walks up the stairs. "Hey," he says when he spies her.

"Hey…" Grace flashes a small smile, "Sorry, I had to call a few people…"

"No problem," Neil tells her. He walks the three feet over to her and leaves a small enough gap that it didn't look intimate. Much. "How're you doing?" He asks quietly, the worry evident in his voice.

"Surprisingly, not as bad as I thought I would, now it's sunk in. You never know, he may just keep his head down and not bother me," Grace says hopefully.

"Do you need to talk?" Jo asks, coming forward and placing a hand on her shoulder.

With a rebuttal on her lips, Grace opens her mouth to decline the offer, but Neil beats her to it.

"Go. It's fine, it's been pretty slow here anyways, you won't be missing much," He smiles to try and reassure her. Getting a small smile in return, he knew that he'd said the right thing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shutting her office door and closing the blinds for privacy, Jo sits down next to Grace on the light grey sofa. "How're you holding up then, eh?" She squeezes her hand gently.

With a small smile Grace answers. "Honestly? I'm okay, I'm just… hoping for the best. I've spoken to my parents, which helped. I just hope that he leaves me alone." _I'm glad I told Jo all about this. _Grace thinks. It's like a burden has been lifted.

Pursing her lips together Jo nods, knowing that it was unlikely. "Okay, if you say so," She pauses, mulling over her next words. "But, I will ask one thing of you." Grace looks questioningly at her rather than bothered, so she plows on. "I want you to stay with me when we're on leave next week," Grace shakes her head ready to decline, and Jo switches tactics. "_Please_. Maybe not for the entire time, but at least a couple of days so you can re-assure me at least!" Jo pleads.

Grace sighs, but already knew that Jo had won. "Okay. _But,_ only a couple of days, I don't want to take up all of your time."

Jo smiles, relieved. "We had stuff planned anyway. We haven't done anything together in ages… there's no way we're gonna let this jerk stop us!" Jo exclaims with a grin.

"You're right, he's not going to ruin my life." Grace tells her, "But… I suppose I'd better get back to work now," she sighs, getting up.

"Alright, meet up for lunch later?" Jo asks, getting up as well.

"Definitely."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Walking through her front door after the day she had, nobody could blame her when she collapsed onto the couch. Putting her feet up on the coffee table, Grace dropped her head onto the back of the sofa. _That's it, I'm not moving now until work tomorrow. _The phone ringing cuts her out of her musings.

She groans loudly, slamming her eyes shut against the noise. _For the love of god, who now? _She thinks, stretching her arm over to the phone.

"Hello?" _This'd better be important._

"Hey there, love," the males' voice comes through, making her smile. "I missed you earlier when you called."

_Very important, _"Hey Dad. Sorry I haven't tried to get in touch again," She tells him, sitting upright on the sofa.

"No problem love, I expect that you've been busy today with everything that's happened," he tells her sadly.

"Yeah, I had to work out a few things but it's all sorted now. Things'll be alright, Dad," She attempts to reassure him.

"Are you telling _me_ that, or yourself?" He asks, knowing his daughter well.

Letting out a loud sigh, she flops back into the cushions. _Damn man, he's always been able to read me._ "Honestly Dad? I don't know. A lot's been happening lately at work-" _And my personal life,_ "-And this is just another thing on the list." She stares sightlessly at the cream ceiling.

Hearing the weariness in her voice, he repeats what he's told her many a time. "Oh honey, you know that if you wanted to, you could leave the police. You have your trust fund, remember. I would be much happier if I knew you were safe, and not doing something so dangerous…" He trails off, hoping for a different answer this time.

_He never gives up_. "Dad, we've been through this before. I don't want to, I love my job. Besides, I'm not going to live off of you, I can make my own money," Grace tells him defensively. Again.

He sighs into the phone dejectedly. "I know Gracey. You've always been independent, but you _can_ use the money in your fund! You haven't touched a penny of it since you've had access, and I want my baby to be comfortable, not have to struggle with money."

She laughs lightly, "I know Dad, but I'm fine. Money isn't an issue with me; I don't live out of my means. I don't _want_ a big house and fancy cars; you know that I don't value those things." _I should just put that on my answering machine._

"I understand, sweetheart. I think we go through this every time we speak, but just remember that the money is yours and no matter how much you ignore it, it always will be," He pauses, "Although, your brother keeps on telling me if you don't want it…" He chuckles.

She laughs with him, problems forgotten for the moment. "You can tell him that he earns enough, let alone using his own trust fund! He definitely doesn't need mine," Her sniggers die down into a heartfelt sigh. "Oh Dad, I do miss you."

"Me too, sweetheart. I don't get to see you nearly as much as I should," He murmurs.

"I know. I'm sorry," She frowns slightly, "I've got a week off next week, why don't I come up for a visit for a few of days?"

"You know, that's the best idea I've heard in a long time!" She can hear the grin through the phone. "It'll be good to catch up," He pauses for a fraction of a second. "On one condition though,"

"What's that?" She asks cautiously.

"I send my diver to pick you up. There's no need for you to drive, that way you can relax. And, I know how much you hate driving long distances. I won't take no for an answer," He says sternly.

Grace pauses to think it over. _Why not. Let my father spoil me, I don't normally let him. _"Okay," She nods into the empty living room.

"Well that was easier said than done," her father chuckles into the phone. "Good. I'll speak with you in a few days and we can sort out the details then." He hesitantly continues. "I know that you've probably been asked this already today, but… How are you doing?" He asks seriously, the worry shining through.

"I'm doing okay. I've got a few good people that know, so I have their support." Grace tells him.

"People, eh? Who would these people be?" He asks suspiciously, fatherly instincts kicking in.

She chuckles. "Well, you know Jo, you've met her before, and of course Jack Meadows, the big boss…" Grace says, hoping he wouldn't ask about Neil.

"Yes… I already know them, so who else is there?" He asks with the hint of a smile, knowing that Grace is keeping something from him.

_Is this man a mind reader? _Grace asks herself, bewildered. _Well, I may as well tell him. _"Also… My direct boss, D.I Manson." She blushes into the apartment, silently cursing.

"Hmmm, who is this guy then? Why d'you tell him? I take it you didn't have to," Her father asks.

"No, no I didn't _have_ to tell him… I- ah, we're… Good friends." Grace lies unconvincingly.

"Uh huh, friends, yeah right. Remember Gracey, I _am_ your father; I can read you like a book." He chastises lightly.

"Yeah, I know Dad; I just don't want to say at the moment. It's all… Well, it's still new." She says. She never lied to her father; she wasn't going to start now.

"It's okay honey, I won't pry. If you want, you can bring him with you when you come and see us next week? It's up to you,"

"Alright, I'll ask him. Maybe. Anyway, how is everyone?" Grace asks.

After chatting for a little longer, they both say theirs goodbyes and end the call.

Getting up from the sofa, Grace wanders into her kitchen. _What to eat? What to eat?_ She asks herself, peering into the fridge. Getting no inspiration from the carton of milk and three eggs, Grace looks for her mobile. _Take out it is then- menu...where's the menu? _She ends up searching through the drawers once again.

A strong knock at the door attracts her attention.Snapping her head up, Grace looks towards the door. _Oh god, what if it's Pearson? _Her eyes widen at the thought._ No, it can't be; he doesn't get out 'till tomorrow_. _Pull yourself together woman… Who the hell is it then? _Walking to the door slowly, another knock makes her jump. Reaching the door she looks through the peep hole.

She sighs with relief and rests her forehead on the cool wood of the door once she realizes that it's not Pearson. Opening the door, she plants a smile on her face. "Hi. I wasn't expecting you this evening," Grace smiles, looking at him._ He must've come straight from work. _She thinks upon seeing that he's still in his work shirt and pants, minus his jacket and tie. _Glad he came though._

"Well, I was just passing…" Neil trails off with a grin on his face. They both knew he was lying, due to the fact that he lived in the opposite direction completely. "I brought food," He says with bright eyes, holding it up like it was some marvellous treasure.

Opening the door widely Grace lets him in. "You saved me the trouble of calling for some myself," She grins, walking to the kitchen.

Collecting the utensils and some drinks Grace moves into the living room, where Neil was getting comfortable on her sofa.

"I'm glad I could help," He smirks, dishing the food up.

Eating together and chatting about everything but work, Neil takes Grace's mind off of the days events. Finishing up dinner, they leave the cartons and plates on the table rather than cleaning up.

"Do you want to sit outside for a bit?" Grace asks hopefully, spying the dark clear sky from her window. "Or do you need to go?" She turns to watch him.

"Nope, I have no where else I need, or want, to be," He grins, eyes twinkling in the lamplight.

Doing themselves some more drinks, they both relax on the bench in the small garden.

"How're you doing?" Neil asks, peering over at her. Studying her face, he can see that the day has taken its toll on her; the stress lines were a lot more prominent.

Turning her head to look at him with sad eyes, she smiles a tired smile. "I don't think I can count how many times I've been asked that today," She smirks.

"Oh… Sorry." He mumbles, looking down into his glass.

Placing her hand on his arm she chuckles lightly, "I'm teasing. Yes, I've been asked that a lot today, but it's okay," she smiles, "It means people care."

He smiles, relieved, and glances at her retreating arm. He catches it within his own hand and holds it firmly. Tracing his fingers over her hand, he begins to talk quietly. "I just want to make sure that you _are_ okay; I can't even begin to guess what's going through your mind at this moment, but… I want to tell you that I'll be here for you, no matter what." He says firmly.

Looking up at her, he sees that she's lent her head against the back of the bench, watching him.

"Thank you," She murmurs. Leaning over, Grace plants a small kiss on his cheek.

Feeling a bit of tension beginning to creep in, Neil dispels it quickly. "Is that all I get?" He asks cheekily, getting the desired laughter from her.

Wrapping his right arm around her shoulder, Neil pulls her closer. When she snuggles into his chest, he smiles happily. Squeezing her tighter, they both sit there in comfortable silence, content with each others' company, watching the stars.

When it gets too dark to see the small shrubbery in the garden, they decided that they should probably go inside now, and Neil had to go home.

Walking Neil to the door, Grace hugs herself, suddenly feeling quite alone. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," Neil says glumly, turning around in the open doorway.

Leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest, Grace smiles sadly. "Yeah," she breathes.

Bringing his hand up Neil runs a finger down her face with a curious look, "Hey, what's wrong?" He asks.. Shaking her head, she tells him not to worry. "Grace…"

Seeing that he wouldn't be going without an answer, Grace ducks her head in embarrassment, "It… just feels like I'm always saying goodbye to you," she mumbles to the floor.

Only just catching what she said, Neil grins like a Cheshire cat. He steps forward, bringing his arms around her, pulling her to him again. "I would love to stay Grace, you know that. I just don't want to spoil what we've got by rushing in; I think we need to take our time," he murmurs. Feeling her nod into his chest, he lets out a small breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Placing her hands on his chest, she plays with the buttons on his not-so-crisp white shirt. "I know, I know. I've got a lot of things flying through my head at the moment, I can't think straight, that's all." She pauses. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Leaning down, Neil kisses her languidly, lasting only a few seconds. "I better not carry on, or I wont be leaving," he breathes rather breathlessly, already feeling a stirring in his groin.

"Yeah, I agree," Grace tells him with a light laugh. "Goodnight," She gives him a quick kiss, stepping back.

"Goodnight." Turning around Neil heads outside. He pauses, glancing back. "If you need anything, call me, okay?" After her nod, he smiles tightly and moves over to his car. Closing her front door, she heads back into her flat and tidies up the dinner before heading to bed.

**Well I hope you all enjoyed that… let me know in your reviews**

**This was originally only going to be a few chapters long and as always they go on even longer.**

**I now need YOUR help people. Let me know where you want this story to go. The PEARSON plot will be wrapped up, but let me know if you want me to carry on after that or end it? What do you think? Pop it in a review or drop me a message.**

**I have a couple of ideas floating in my head for it, but they are not giving me any hope at the mo, so I have stalled at writing, let me know.**

**Next chapter will be up soon…**


	8. Chapter 8

Here it is folks the next chapter!

A round of applause please for my beta Laura on an excellent job!

Thank you for all of the reviews and the encouraging remarks, I will say once again they do keep me writing. Thank you for taking the time in putting a couple of lines.

Hope you all enjoy.

The next few days go by pretty slow, with no major incidents.

On the forth day, with multiple people reporting that their houses have been broken in to, Grace and Banksy got the short straw in getting people to come to the station to speak with them. So far, they weren't having much luck with any new information.

Walking back into the office, Grace and Banksy take their respective seats.

"You get to deal with the next one Grace, that last one was just too painful," Banksy laughs, collapsing back in his chair.

Chuckling, Grace bargains. "Only if you get me a coffee?"

"You're on," Getting up, he quickly leaves the office in search of coffee.

"Hey Mickey," Banksy says, passing him on the way out.

"Hey Banksy," Mickey replies watching him head out of the office. He looks at Grace with a bemused expression marring his features, "Where's he off to in such a hurry then, eh?"

She laughs, "I said I'd deal with the next burglary victim, but only if he got me a coffee," She smirks.

Mickey grins, "Did you tell him that there isn't any coffee left?"

She changes her features into that of complete innocence, "Nope,"

He smiles, moving over to his desk, "Oh yeah, there's a guy downstairs now though, said he's here for an appointment." He dumps down the large heap of files, sitting in his chair loudly.

"Alright, did you catch a name?" Grace asks, amusedly watching Mickey try not to drop the files.

"Uh, yeah- _whoops- _Mi- Crap," Mickey yelps as the files start to fall apart in his fingers. Trying to keep a hold of them makes the files seem to spread even more and fall all over the floor.

Hearing laughter coming from Grace, Mickey throws a half-hearted glare over his shoulder. "Get out of here, before I make _you_ pick em up!"

Gathering up some of her paperwork, Grace retreats from the office, laughing all the way down to the ground floor. _Three o'clock, nearly home time. What to do tonight? I wonder if Neil fancies dinner… I'll have to ask him once I've dealt with this guy._

Walking into the waiting room at the front of the station, Grace shuffles her paperwork in her hands, "Okay Sir, I'm DC Dasari. I'm here to take some details from you." Looking up from her files, she sees the man standing with his back to her, looking down at something.

_Ahh, such politeness,_ Grace shakes her head, closing the door and placing her paperwork on the desk. _Again_. _I really can't wait for this day to end._ "Sir, are you ready to get started?" She asks, hoping to hurry things up.

"Oh, I'm ready," He says, turning around slowly.

Eyes widening at the sound of his voice, Grace stands stock still. "P-Pearson," Grace whispers, frozen to the spot in terror.

"Hello Grace," Michael says, smirking, "Long time, no see, eh darling?" Grinning now, he steps closer.

_Oh God,_ Her mind screams blankly at her. Backing away, Grace finds herself hitting a wall. _Crap._ "Pearson, you-you can't be here," She shakes her head, unable to believe that he'd come into a place full of police officers.

"Oh, but I am," He smirks, mere inches away from her now. A part of her mind mused that this didn't spur any of the feelings that it does when it's her and Neil in this situation, but the panic-part overrides it soon enough.

Feeling his breath on her face and his general odour makes Graces' stomach queasy. "Why can't you just leave me alo-ne?" Grace whimpers, hating the crack in her voice.

"I told you before Grace, we're meant to be together. Forever," He says, with all the air of a crazy villain in one of those cheesy movies that the gang have watched together.

Playing with a lock of her hair, he feels her shiver. "You still feel something for me Grace." He says, smiling sadly at her, as if _she's_ the one that's deluded.

"I've never felt anything for you Pearson, and I never will. Just leave me alone," she spits, raising her voice, hoping to attract someone's attention.

"Uh, uh, no shouting peaches, we don't want to be interrupted now, do we?" Michael says, eyes widening in mock horror as he brings a knife up to her face. He places the blade to her lips, as a warning that even she in this panicked state of mind could understand. "We have a lot to talk about," he whispers.

"I don't want to talk to you at all! Let me go," She whimpers, attempting to move away from him.

"Oh, no you don't," He says condescendingly. Grabbing her arm, he pulls her back toward him and pushes her into the wall. "We're finished when _I_ say we are!" he growls. "You took away 6 years of my life, for what? Loving you? Is that a crime?" He grabs her shoulders in a bruising grip, "Well?" he shakes her when he gets no response. "Answer me!"

Graces' mind whirrs, silently praying for someone to burst into the room for some reason. She closes her eyes, silent tears running down her face.

"I love you Grace, I will always love you. No one else can or will," Michael attempts to get her to see things his way.

Shaking her head she snaps, "I never loved you Pearson, and that won't change!"

"Is there someone else?" He half-whimpers, "No, there can't be! It has to be me, it's always been!" he shrieks maniacally, shaking his head as if to dislodge her hurtful words.

Stopping suddenly, he looks at her with a strange intensity. "If I can't have you, no one else can, Grace." He says, voice devoid of emotion. He brings the knife up to her neck again. "We can be together, forever."

Striding into the C.I.D office Superintendent Jack Meadows glances around the room looking for Grace, but only spying Mickey, Terry and Neil, brings a spark of worry. "Where's Grace?" He asks, bringing attention to himself.

"I'm not sure, Sir. She's dealing with the burglaries so she could be anywhere. What's wrong?" Neil asks when Meadows' eyes widen slightly, a slither of fear tickling the back of his neck.

Flicking his eyes over to Mickey and Terry, he turns to Neil. "I've had a call. Pearson missed his past two probation meetings, and I've been told he's heading down this way," he says gravely, pulling out his mobile and punching in Graces' number.

He turns abruptly when he hears it ring, and curses under his breath when he spies her phone on her desk, ending the call.

Terry stands up, sensing the tension in the room, which wasn't that hard since it was nearly suffocating. "What's wrong? Who's this Pearson guy?" Terry asks, glancing between Neil and the Super. "Look, if Grace is in trouble, I want to know what's going on."

"It's a long story Terry… Just, Pearson is not to be messed with." Neil says, running a hand through his usually neat and tidy hair.

"Hold on, Pearson? Michael Pearson?" Mickey asks, sifting through the files on his desk.

"Yeah… Mickey, what do you know?" Meadows asks urgently.

"Grace is with him now, in the interview room in the front office," Mickey tells them, with a fearful expression.

As soon as he heard those words, Neil sped from the office as fast as was possible without running, closely followed by Meadows. Mickey and Terry were on their heels on instinct.

_Jesus, he's in there with her now,_ Neil's mind screams at him, blotting everything else out, _if anything happens to her…_ Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Neil slams the button to release the door. Pushing through it, all four of them bundle into the reception area. Entering the foyer they encounter Nate and Leon walking through the front door.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" remarks Nate when Neil rushes across the hall. He looks to Meadows in confusion when they just go on past without even acknowledging him. They both stop and watch curiously, picking up on the mild hysteria.

Slamming the interview door open and barrelling in, Neil expects the worst. However, the sight that met him was one he wasn't expecting: Grace was still there, standing against the wall holding a knife and Pearson was on the floor clutching his shoulder and cursing loudly - and colourfully.

After taking a second to let the panic flee his mind, he moves over to Grace. He can see her shaking with her eyes fixed on Pearson. Briefly flicking his eyes he sees Terry and Mickey dealing with Pearson under instructions from Meadows, who was taking in the scene. Putting his concentration back to Grace, he moves to stand in front of her, blocking Pearson from her sight.

Neil takes her hand and takes the knife, dropping it on the floor. "Grace," he says almost inaudibly, eyes whizzing over her professionally. Seeing her hands covered in blood gets his heart beating that bit faster and his breath hitches._ If he's hurt her, so help me God I'll kill him_. "Grace," He says a little louder. Looking over her he can't see any wounds. _Must be his blood. Thank God. _Bending his shoulders slightly to make eye contact with her, he says softly "Hey,"

As if just realizing that he's in the room Grace jumps slightly, "Neil," she stutters, "I-uh-I," Her eyes filled with water and she started trembling more.

Not caring about everyone around them he wraps his arms around her -carefully in case she's hurt- "C'mere," He whispers, pulling her to him gently.

Feeling Neil pull her body to him with such tenderness breaks down Graces' last barrier, and she lets her feelings flood out. With a small cry lodged in her throat she clutches onto his shirt for dear life, quietly sobbing into his shoulder.

Hearing her cry quietly, Neil tightens his arm around her. _I'm gonna kill him for what he's done. _Sensing a pair of eyes on him, Neil turns his head slightly and sees Meadows watching them; he gives Neil a small smile and leaves the room. "I want forensics down here now!" Neil hears him bark to the officers outside.

"Hey," he murmurs into Graces' ear, "Let's get you out of here, eh?" Feeling her small nod against his chest he starts to move. Pulling away from her, he notices that he's got a boatload of blood on his shirt.

Noticing this as well, Grace apologises to him.

"Don't worry about it," He says lightly, "As long as you're safe that's all that matters," He tells her. Seeing Grace start to shake again, he takes his suit jacket off and places it around her shoulders. _Probably just shock,_ His mind mutters.

"No, no its okay, I don't want to ruin it," Grace says trying to take it off.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Grace stills her movements, peering up at him under dark lashes. "Don't worry about it," he says softly. Putting his arm around her shoulders Neil guides her from the room and past everyone who was congregating.

Taking her upstairs, Neil leads her into his office making her sit in a chair. He closes all of the blinds and the door for as much privacy as one could in a glass room. Turning around he looks at Grace, really looks at her. _Dammit, I told her, I _swore_ to her that I would keep her safe. That turned out well didn't it?_ Watching her just stare at nothing makes his heart hurt that little bit more.

Kneeling down in front of her Neil rubs her arms gently. "Grace," he murmurs. He tries to make eye contact with her but she keeps her teary eyes elsewhere. He manages to stifle a sigh and moves her chin up oh-so-gently so that he could.

Doing that seems to undo all of the self restraint Grace had managed to get back after making it to the office. With tears streaming down her face, Neil once again pulls her to him, tucking her head under his chin. He murmurs comforting words to her while struggling not to picture Michael Pearson's trachea crushed beneath his hands.

They both stay like that for a while, waiting for Grace to calm down slowly. A knock at the door interrupts them and brings them back to the harsh world outside the office. Pulling away carefully Neil moves toward the door, "Stay there."

Opening the door he sees Jo standing there. When she jerks slightly, looking at him with panic on her face he glances down at himself and realizes that his shirt now has numerous blood stains on him. It looked like someone had slaughtered a cow and rolled his shirt in its bloody carcass. "Oh." He stared blankly at it, before adding as if an afterthought: "Don't worry, it isn't Grace's."

Nodding, she peers – or attempts to, since he's subconsciously blocking the doorframe – over his shoulder and spots Grace sitting in a chair stiffly, not moving. "What can I do? I want to help," she whispers, worry -written in block letters- all over her face.

Taking a moment to think, he thought of something. "Can you get her a new top? And get Eddie up here now, once her hands have been photographed she can wash them," She nods rapidly, relieved to have something useful to do, and leaves the office.

Before he shuts the door he catches sight of Banksy, Terry and Mickey all standing around with worried looks on their faces. _I don't think she knows how many people worry about her_. "She's okay guys, just-" he flaps his hands a little, "Just give her a little time," Getting wary nods in return he shuts the door once again.

Turning to look at Grace again, Neil sighs lightly. _Why Grace eh? Why d'you choose her? Bastard._ "I'm sorry," Grace mumbles again.

"Huh?" Going over to her again, he kneels in front of her on the floor. Putting his hands on her arms and gently rubs small circles there.

"I'm sorry," she says urgently.

"What for?" _She can't be blaming herself for this surely! _

She points at his shirt, "For ruining your shirt," she says as if its obvious. _For ruining my shirt! For ruining my shirt, is she mad! _

He smiles lightly at her, trying for breezy. "Don't say another word about my shirt, I have plenty," he retorts. Hearing another knock at the door Neil huffs. "Don't we ever get any privacy," he whispers, receiving a small smile from Grace.

Opening the door he sees Eddie and Jo standing there. He opens the door a bit more he lets them both in, shutting it once everybody was inside.

"Grace, I need to photograph your hands," Eddies says in that boringly simple monotone of his, fiddling with the camera. Seeing a nod he gets about completing his work. Taking numerous shots of her hands and shirt, Eddie completes his work. "Erm… Grace, I need your top as well," he jerks his head at it.

"Oh, I-uh," Grace stutters, looking around the office. _I can't change in front of everyone!_

"Come on Grace, I've got a spare top, you can wash up and I'll give Eddie this one," Jo intervenes cheerfully. Walking over to the door, she waits for Grace to reach her and they both leave the office.

"I'm going to need your shirt too boss," Eddie says, seeing that Neil is now more covered in blood than Grace.

"Mmm," Neil mumbles, still watching the door which Grace just left through. He shakes his head when he realises what Eddie said. "Oh- Oh yeah, sure," He unbuttons his shirt with all of the grace and speed of someone who's been doing it for years. He hands it over to Eddie who stuffs it in a plastic evidence bag happily. Watching Eddie leave, Neil grabs a spare shirt from the small cupboard in the corner of the office and re-dresses.

After speaking with Meadows, Neil gets himself up to speed with what's happening. With the evidence Eddie had gathered and the entire incident recorded on CCTV, it looked like Pearson would be going away for a long, long time. All that remained was to obtain a statement from Grace.

_Speak of the devil,_ he thinks, brightening up happily when he spies his door opening slowly. He stands up from his chair as Grace enters his office and closes the door behind herself. Leaning against his door, she looks up at him hesitantly. "I'm sorry Sir, I never meant for all this to be dragged in here. I never dreamt that he would be brazen enough to come to the station." She mutters bitterly.

_Sir? Huh._ He walks over to her, mindful of the now-open blinds. "Since when did I become 'sir'?" he asks, running his hands up and down her arms.

"Well, I thought, I-uh. I just- oh…. I don't know what I thought," Grace huffs. _He really likes doing that,_ she thinks when his hands move up her arms again.

"I've been 'sir' to you for far too long in my opinion. We- it's just us, I don't want you calling me that anymore, right?" He says softly to her, voice full of badly masked emotion. Getting a small nod from her, he relaxes a bit. "Okay. If you're up to it, then I need to take a statement from you?"

"Yeah, its fine; I just want to get it over and done with so I can forget about him," Grace says. Then, all of a sudden Grace throws her arms around him and hugs him hard. "Thank you for everything," she whispers, blinking back happy tears.

Caught off guard, Neil quickly wraps his arms around her, "There's nothing to thank me for," He squeezes reassuringly, "How about we get this paperwork done, and we can go get some dinner, eh? Take our minds off everything."

Feeling her nod against him, he expects her to move from his arms, but she doesn't. Smiling, Neil shuffles closer and squeezes tighter. "I don't want to move just yet," he hears Grace say.

"No problem what-so-ever," He tells her. Thankfully they were in a position now due to all of the shuffling, that the people outside of this office couldn't see what they were doing.

Staying like that for a few minutes, he feels Grace start to relax against him. "I suppose we should start my statement now," she asks sulkily, still in his arms.

"Yeah, I guess so," Neil answers. Pulling away from her slowly he gives her a quick –cheeky- grin, "The quicker we get it done, the quicker we can get outta here."

Writing up the statement took about an hour, and going through it again and again to make sure they had all the details right seemed to take its toll on Grace. Finishing up Neil takes the statement to Meadows, who was supervising it all. Neil tells him that he would be taking Grace home 'so she didn't have to be alone tonight'.

"No problem Neil, just make sure that she's alright," Meadows tell him. Watching him leave the office Jack grins widely, scanning absently through the files on his desk.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Pulling up into his driveway, they both exit the car with their take-out. Sitting down on his sofa they start eating speedily, not realising how hungry either of them was until the food was in front of them. Chatting comfortably to each other, Neil makes sure he stays clear of what happened today. Don't need to relive past experiences.

Long after they'd finished eating, they're both sitting back on the sofa with the TV on in the background. "What a day huh?" Grace says, turning her head to look at Neil.

"Yeah, what a day," Neil murmurs, not knowing what else to say.

Watching him become slightly nervous, Grace chuckles quietly. "It's alright, Neil, I won't break down if you talk about it,"

"I know, sorry," Neil says hurriedly. Turning on the sofa so he's facing her, he moves a strand of hair from her face, which of course ended up with him playing with it, brushing her neck occasionally.

Turning so she's facing him as well she places her hand on his leg, playing with the small crease in his trousers. "Y'know, after seeing him today, I realised that he doesn't hold the power over me that he use to do." Grace muses, "The past few days I've been so tense, but now I realise that I haven't got to worry about him anymore," she nods a little.

Seeing Grace talking more to herself than him, Neil doesn't respond; he just watches her and plays with her hair, mind in the gutter. Again. _I could really kiss those lips,_

Looking at him, Grace sees that she doesn't have Neil's complete attention anymore. Smiling, she brings her finger up and taps his nose. "Hey you… You still in there?"

Blinking rapidly out of his thoughts he grins at her, "Sorry, got distracted,"

"Uh huh," Grace grins back, eyes sparkling with amusement.

Watching her. he can't help but wet his lips. Seeing her eyes flick down to his lips for a second, Neil doesn't hold back. Leaning over Neil swiftly captures her lips with his. Cupping her face with one hand he pushes her backwards slightly.

Feeling her grip the front of his shirt, he deepens the kiss, pushing her back onto the sofa fully. Following her down, Neil lays half on Grace but keeping his full weight off by propping himself up on his right arm, leaving his other hand free to run up and down her body.

Grace runs her tongue over his teeth, gently nipping his bottom lip. Hearing him growl slightly make her smile into the kiss. Running her hands down his chest she can feel his hard abs underneath. She suppresses a groan.

Feeling him shift against her in an _oh-so-wrong_ way makes her squirm against him. _God, this man can _really_ kiss._

Running his hand down her side Neil quickly finds the hem of her top, and wastes no time in slipping his fingers underneath and tracing patterns on her skin. Hearing her breath hitch and feeling her squirm makes him carry on, making his movements faster.

Getting braver he slips his hand further under her top, splaying his fingers on her lower stomach.

Breaking the kiss –only due to the urgent need for oxygen- Neil hovers above her, "I've wanted to do _that_ all day," he whispers breathlessly.

"Well," She pants, "I can honestly say, that I've wanted to do that as well,"

"Stay. Stay the night with me," He asks, eyes jet black with desire. Seeing the indecisiveness flicker over her face, he adds hurriedly: "Not like that, I just want to keep you near," he says, waiting for the inevitable 'polite decline'.

_So nervous. So cute,_ her mind whirrs when she sees him bite his lip. Giving him a quick kiss on the lips she answers sultrily, "No place I'd rather be,"

Getting a big grin on his face he gives her another kiss before moving off of her carefully. Sitting back down on the sofa, Neil places an arm around her, pulling her upright before shuffling her closer to him.

"You _do_ know, if you pull me any closer than this I'll be sitting in your lap," Grace chuckles.

"Sorry," Neil says sheepishly, starting to move his arm.

"I never said you should move," Grace says seriously, snuggling into him more.

Relaxing on the sofa, they both stare blindly at the TV, letting the days' events leave them. After a while, Grace peers at the clock. With time getting on they both decide that they ought to get some sleep.

"Do you want the spare room, or did you want to share my bed?" Neil asks, mumbling the last part.

She smiles shyly at him, "Well, if I'm staying here then I may as well stay with you," Grace answers. "But I'll need to borrow some clothes,"

He nods, taking her hand to lead her upstairs. Pausing in the doorway to his bedroom, Neil becomes very fidgety and nervous all of a sudden, letting go of her hand when he realizes that he's sweating. _Oh my god, what am I doing? How am I going to survive the night! Simple. You're not. _

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he moves over to a draw, pulling out a t-shirt and pair of boxers. Turning back to the doorway he blinks dumbly when Grace is not standing there. Looking around the room he spots her sitting on the edge of his bed. _She looks just right there_.

Walking over to her he gives her the items, pointing to a doorway. "The en-suite is through there; there's a spare toothbrush in the cabinet." He says, shuffling his feet.

"Thank you," Grace says, taking the items and walking through the door.

He breathes a sigh of relief when she closes the door. _Pull yourself together man!_ Grabbing a clean pair of boxers he heads to the main bathroom to get changed. Throwing his clothes in the hamper Neil heads to the front of the house to lock up.

Going back into his bedroom, he stops short just inside his room; Standing by his window is Grace, _well, who else would it be? _Wearing his white t-shirt and robins egg blue boxers. _Whoa, _he thinks. _This is going to be an… interesting night._

Hearing movement at the door –probably his jaw hitting the floor, he thought bashfully- Grace spins round. Seeing Neil, she grins happily. "Wondered where you went," She tells him rather breathlessly. _Jesus, I knew he had decent abs, but _wow_,_ Grace thinks when she sees him. Clad only in boxers, she gets a good look at nearly everything.

"Had to lock up," he says on his way to the bed, trying desperately to control his voice.

Getting in bed, Neil switches the light off and they both become awkward, laying down stiffly, neither wanting to move.

Taking the plunge Neil turns onto his side swiftly, pulling Grace close. He gives her a small peck on the lips before murmuring 'goodnight' in her ear.

Relishing in the feel of him all around her, Grace relaxes in his arms.

Rolling onto his back again, Neil moves Grace with him, the latter snuggling into his chest.

She hears the slow beating of his heart. She gently lays a hand on his chest directly over the beating organ, feeling his heart alive and beating. As his arms tightened around her, she knew this was the right place to be. "Goodnight," she murmurs after a while. Closing her eyes, she relaxes in his strong arms, slowly drifting to sleep.

Well what did you all think? Let me know.

The next chapter is being looked at, at the moment, so once that is done it won't be too long until the next chapter.

Hope you are still all enjoying it. There are only a couple of more chapters left then onto the next story- already got that one planned out.

R & R as normal folks!

**GUYS JUST A WARNING TO CHANGE YOUR RATING SETTINGS READY FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here you go folks, sorry about the long wait- but life interferes as usual.**

**I hope this is worth the wait!**

**Thank you once again for all of the reviews and thank you for being patient and continuing to read it.**

**Thank you to my beta reader Laura!**

**Enjoy!**

Opening his eyes slowly, it takes a moment for Neil to remember what happened last night. Smiling when it comes back to him, he turns his head to his left to see Grace lying next to him on her side, facing him. _So beautiful, _

Seeing that she's still fast asleep he can't resist placing a cheeky kiss on her lips. Sliding carefully from the bed, Neil throws on a t-shirt and slips out of the room to make breakfast.

The smell of food wakes Grace from her slumber. Stretching and rolling over she lands on Neil's pillow, inhaling his manly scent. _What the hell? _She jerks upright when it dawns on her that she's not in her bed. _Ah, now I remember,_ She thinks, flopping back down on the bed relieved when she recalls last nights' events. She brings the covers back up around her and snuggles into them, revelling in the warmth. _I suppose I better get up if he is making food… but this bed is sooo comfy. _

Hearing the door open, Grace turns and looks over. Standing in the doorway is one very delicious-looking Neil. _Well, who else is it going to be?_ He's holding a tray with lots of food on it, and Grace shuffles herself into a sitting position, making the necessary protests. "Hmmm, that smells lovely, but you didn't have to," she smiles shyly.

_God she looks good in the mornings,_ his mind whirrs upon seeing Grace with her tousled bed ridden hair. _Let us hope I get to see more of that._

Walking over to the bed he places the tray in front of her, before going round the oak bed and reclining back on it, his back against the headboard. "Of course I did, I can't let you starve now can I?"

Ignoring the rhetorical question, Grace smiles indulgently at the tray. Looking at the selection of food, she takes a moment to choose. _Pancakes, waffles, toast; choices, choices. Well at least he is a much better cook than I am._

Watching Grace peer at the food, Neil speaks up a little nervous that he'd rushed things. Well, after what they'd done so far, they couldn't have, but still. "I know there's a bit of a selection but I didn't know what you usually eat for breakfast… So I just did a bit of everything," he reddens slightly but ignores the urge to cover his eyes when she looks up at him.

"I just can't decide that's all," She grins, putting him at ease. Realising that he's staring at her, Grace starts to pat down her hair, blushing furiously. _God I must look like a state. Messed hair, no make-up- morning breath! Oh my god._

"Don't," Neil says urgently, reaching for her hand, watching her with a strange intensity. "You look good like that," he adds, mouth seemingly moving on its own accord.

Blushing further in response Grace looks back at the food. _Concentrate on the food, just the food._

With both of them picking at the food on the tray, they eat in comfortable silence. Finishing, Neil places the tray with the now-empty dishes on the unit next to his bed.

"Well I suppose I'd better get up and head back to mine; we _do_ have to start work in a few hours," She sighs regrettably, not making any move to get out of bed.

"Uh huh," He replies absently, running his fingers up and down her arm. Again. _I wonder if the rest of her body is this silky smooth? _His mind hums contentedly.

"Neil," Grace says, actually getting his attention this time, her eyes lighting up in amusement when he looks at her with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah, sorry," He says, shaking the thoughts from his head and dropping his arm, "What did you say?"

"I said that I had better make a move, get home and freshen up. We _have_ got work in a few hours." She repeats, watching him.

"Oh, I suppose so," he mumbles, playing with her hand. "Bu-ut, before you go, I think I should get a reward for doing you breakfast…" He grins cheekily, eyes lighting up when she laughs.

"A reward, eh? Well, what did you have in mind?"

"Well… I did have one thing on my mind," He says, voice laden with desire as his eyes cloud over, inching closer to her.

"What would that be then?" Grace breathes, peering into black eyes now mere inches away, knowing full well what he was after.

"This," he mumbles breathlessly before pulling her in for a kiss.

Cupping her face Neil deepens the kiss, bridging the gap between them. They both slide down the bed so they're both lying on their sides, not breaking their kiss.

With a sense of urgency Neil intently deepens the kiss, pulling Grace closer with his spare arm, feeling the T-shirt that she's wearing riding up a little bit as her bare skin touches his arm. Groaning he bites her bottom lip firmly, eliciting a moan from Grace. Feeling Grace arch her back, Neil rolls onto his back pulling Grace with him.

Needing to get some air, he breaks the kiss for a moment, but doesn't stop his exploring. Peppering kisses down her neck he follows her skin to her shoulder, leaving his hands still on her waist. He pauses when he feels her moving. _Please don't tell me that she is stopping, _he groans softly in frustration.

However that was soon replaced with another type of groan when Grace moving on top of him, straddling him. _Oh thank god for small mercies._ Leaning up he once again captures her lips with his, pulling her down on top of him, this time making a whimpering sound when he feels her body mould with his.

Running his hands down her sides, he reaches the hem of her shirt and slips his hands underneath, caressing her skin. _So soft,_ he thinks. Moving his hands up her sides slowly, they just rest below her breasts. Hearing her moan at his actions makes him grin against her lips.

The feel of Grace moving against his groin makes him moan embarrassingly loud. Feeling himself react to her, he shifts his hips against her, getting comfortable between her legs. Bringing his arms around her back he pulls her in close, breaking the kiss once more. "Grace," he whispers, eyes closed. Feeling a light kiss being placed on each of his eyelids he slowly opens them, to be met with Grace's eyes staring at him.

"Grace," he whispers again, running his fingers up and down her sides. "Grace, I don't want to stop, -really, I don't- but I think we should," He says regrettably, closing his eyes. _It is so hard to concentrate with her on top of me. _Feeling Grace moving on top of him, he snaps his eyes open.

"Yeah, I think your right" she whispers, not looking at him.

Seeing her sit up but still straddling him, Neil begins to worry slightly. Leaning up on his elbows he tries to catch her eye without success. "Grace," he murmurs for what seems like the seventeenth time in the last ten minutes. "Believe me, I really want to carry on -I do- but I want it to be just right, not to rush it just before we head off to work." Neil tells her honestly, blushing and averting his own eyes.

As his words sink in brings a smile to her face,_ Such a gentleman; so sweet._ "You're right," she decides, "-bu-ut, we can still have some fun for a little bit longer," She murmurs seductively. Running her fingers along his chest she feels him tremor a little.

"Uh-huh," he whimpers, concentrating on staying on his elbows. Hearing a snicker he looks up at her. With slightly swollen lips and even more messed up hair, Neil can't take his eyes off of her._ She looks even more beautiful. _Sitting up suddenly he captures her lips, cupping her face in his right hand and slipping his left under her shirt again, balancing carefully.

Placing her hands on his chest she feels how taut the muscles are. _He must have worked hard on these,_ she thinks as she flutters her palms over his stomach.

Breaking the kiss, "We'd better get off this bed, or we _definitely_ won't be going in," he murmurs kissing her neck, pulling her closer to him. Hearing her chuckle he grins against her skin, "I guess I'm not helping much, am I?" he mumbles rhetorically, trailing kisses down her neck to her collar bone.

"No," she laughs, "You're not," Pulling away she sits back out of his reach.

Looking at him now, it seems like he's a different person. No worry lines, cloudy, lust-filled eyes with no bags under them, less stressed; happy even. _Have I done that?_ Smiling she gets off his lap, moving to stand at the side of the bed. "Can I have a shower before we head to mine?" She asks bashfully.

Sitting on the bed, it takes all of Neil's strength not to pull her back onto the bed. "Sure, you can use the one in the en-suite," he nods his head in that direction, ignoring the slight croak his voice had to it.

"Thank you," she says, gathering up her clothes from the day before and moving into the bathroom.

_Get a grip of yourself man._ He rubs a hand over his face before swinging his legs over the bed. He groans when he hears the shower starting up. _I gotta get out of here._ Grabbing clean clothes he leaves the bedroom and heads into the main bathroom.

Getting washed and dressed Neil is in the kitchen clearing up the dishes when he hears movement in the doorway. Spinning around he sees Grace standing against the door frame. He flashes her a cheeky grin before sidling over. "Hey," he purred.

"Hey yourself," Grace answers, her face showing a little blush.

Stooping in front of her, Neil places a kiss on her lips. "Now _that_ is how I want to start everyday," He grins, which in turns makes Grace blush even more. She places her head on his chest, scrunching her eyes shut; grinning widely he places his hands on her hips. Kissing the side of her neck, he murmurs "Everyday."

"Me too," he hears Grace mumble into his chest. Putting his arms around her Neil holds her closer, smiling to himself.

"Let's get you home then, shall we?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dropping heavily onto Grace's couch Neil watches as she enters her bedroom. "I'll only be a few minutes," She throws over her shoulder.

"We've got plenty of time, don't worry," Neil assures her, watching her retreating backside. Getting up when she moves out of sight, he heads into the kitchen. He fixes himself a glass of orange juice and wanders back into the living room.

Looking around casually, Neil once again spies the photographs on her mantlepeice. _Looks like mum, dad and brother perhaps?_ He squashes down the pang of jealousy that rose when he saw the man had his arm around her shoulder, instead focusing on the small details. _Looks quite recent. _He makes a small sound in the back of his throat as he takes a sip of the drink.

"That was taken a couple of months ago," Grace says from behind him. Turning around he finds her leaning against the door frame with a smile on her face.

"I'm off to see them in a few days," she says casually, walking over to him. "I haven't seen them in a while."

"Yeah, it'll do you some good to get away from here for a few days; it'll give you a well needed break." Neil says, taking her hand in his affectionately.

"Yeah, I thought the same... Well it would be good to get away for a bit," she replies.

He sighs exaggeratedly, watching her as she looks at him curiously. "I guess I can survive a _few_ days without you," he pouts, laughing when she ducks her head.

"Wycancwithifnt," Grace mumbles to the floor.

Staring at her Neil raises his eyebrows "Grace if you want me to respond to what you attempted to say, then you're going to have to repeat that. I don't understand mumble," laughter lacing his voice.

"I uh, if you want you… can come with me," she repeats, lifting her head up to wait his response.

_Meet the family! Is that a bit too soon? _"Uh-" His eyes widen in full-blown panic.

"Don't worry, forget I said anything," Grace backtracks when she sees how scared he has become, trying not to scare him any more.

"What? No, I uh, I just thought that you might want some time away on your own," He says tactfully.

"I suppose so..." she mutters, "I just thought it could be nice to spend a few days with each other," she fiddles with his hand.

_Hmmm, alone for a few days… could be fun,_ He grins to himself. "Who am I to say no to my lady?" He brings her hand up and places a chaste kiss on the back. "But now... we have to go to work." He chuckles.

Grinning, Grace drops his hand and grabs her coat and bag, "Let's go then," She says, moving to her hallway.

Walking into the station together, Grace is glad that they're early and the office is empty; with Neil's hand hovering lightly on her back, people might suspect. Well, if they didn't already. She heads over to her desk and places her belongings down.

Sitting down she looks up to see that Neil has placed himself on the edge of her desk facing her, not saying anything. A couple of minutes pass with them in silence, watching each other.

"If this is too much for you Grace," _Ahh, it speaks!_ He pauses, searching for the words "You haven't got to be here today," He finishes, looking like he wanted to say something else.

"No, it's fine, I would rather work. It's over now, he'll be sent away. Won't bother me anymore," She smiles warmly, placing her hand over his that was resting on the desk.

Turning his hand over he clasps hers in his gently. "Okay, but I want you to take it easy today, just paperwork, okay?" Seeing her nod, he gives her hand a quick squeeze and flashes a small smile. Opening his mouth to speak again, he snaps it shut with an audible 'click' when he hears the door opening.

Dropping her hand he turns and looks at the door, standing up when he sees Terry and Banksy walk in, as to look more professional.

"Afternoon Gov. Grace, how are we?" Terry asks in his offhanded way as they walk up to them.

"Fine thank you Terry," Grace smiles.

"Glad you're okay Grace," Banksy says squeezing her shoulder gently.

"Thanks," she smiles again. "Now, I just want to forget about it all and get on with some good ol' boring paperwork,"

"Now, I'm sure we can find some of that," Terry says clapping his hands together and rubbing them false-eagerly. Wandering over to his desk he flicks some paperwork. "Yep, good old fashion _boring _work." He chuckles loudly, slumping into his seat.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to your work, I know _I_ have a lot of paperwork to do, so… have fun," Neil says, stepping into his office and closing the door.

Watching Neil sit down, Terry slyly peers at Grace. "So..." he starts, capturing Grace's attention. "You and the DI eh?" He smirks, giving her a wink. He grins broadly when she blushes.

"Look, it's-" Grace searches for the right words, worrying forming in her eyes.

Waving his hands, "Hey, it's none of my business. Bu-_ut,_ that doesn't mean I can't tease you about it now and then," He laughs when she blushes even more. "All I will say is: best wishes to you both. If it- _He,_ makes you happy, go for it," Terry says sincerely.

Ducking her head and peering at the desk blankly, "Thank you," Grace replies, unable to think of anything better to say. _What's the point in denying it? They'll all find out eventually. Neil isn't too worried about letting people know. _Flicking her eyes over to his office; smiling when she sees him watching her with a stupid looking grin on his face.

The day goes by pretty quickly. Pearson was remanded and taken to court with no chance of bail, which was a big relief for Grace. With that news they all seemed to relax a bit. Getting on with their paperwork they all immerse themselves in it, barely looking up from the desks. Before they all know it, Seven o'clock rolls by.

Standing up in _his_ office, Neil looks proudly at _his_ team from _his_ window. _His._ All _his._

Terry and Mickey were annoying each other -asusual-, flicking bits of paper back and forth between their desks, aiming at each other rather than the desks._ Nothing changes there then, _Neil smiles.

Banksy was reading that days paper_,_ looking up now and then when he hears Terry or Mickey cheer. _He must still think he's a teacher some days,_ he thinkwhen he sees the amused look shot at Mickey.

Stevie was on her mobile texting-_ again. I swear that thing is attached to her hand._ He thinks after seeing her face light up when her phone flashes.His mind snorts at him, _You can talk; you haven't let your phone out of your sight lately. _He can't find a decent enough argument so moves his eyes to the other desk, dismissing the problem.

His eyes land on Grace, stillworking._ Working right until the end_. He thinks seeing Grace tapping away on the keyboard and scribbling something down. _It's about time she has a break. Tis just luck that you get to spend some of it with her._ His mind pipes up.

Strutting out of _his_ office Neil asks: "Hungry anyone?" glancing around. Seeing a group of nods and shrugs, Neil rubs his hands together eagerly. "Right, what d'we all fancy then?" He asks, shrugging his jacket back on.

Deciding on Chinese, they all head down to the local chinky laughing and chatting about general life. Sitting around at one of the tables they order their drinks and head to the buffet situated in the middle of the restaurant.

Watching Neil slide smoothly up to Grace and whisper in her ear with a silly grin, Terry nudges Stevie and Mickey, jerking his head in their direction.

"Aww, they make a cute couple," Stevie observes, piling more food onto her already-full plate.

"Yeah, they both deserve to be happy," Terry agrees, grabbing more prawn crackers.

"Lets not spoil it for them, eh. They're both very private people," Banksy murmurs from behind them, picking up some chopsticks from the tray.

"Well, we can have a bit of fun now, can't we?" Mickey grins cheekily. "Are you sure you're gonna eat all of that Stevie?" He chuckles, peering at the mound of food on her plate.

Raising her eyebrow Stevie looks at Mickey, "Of course. Bet I could eat mine before you finish yours," she smirks.

Knowing not to bet with Stevie, Mickey waves his hand dismissively. "I know better that to bet with you," he chuckles.

Walking back over to the table, the four of them sit back down and turn to watch Neil and Grace stand by the buffet table talking, looking as if there is no-one else in the world other than the pair of them.

"Aw, that's so sweet," Stevie gushes upon seeing Neil tuck some hair behind Graces' ear. "I don't think they've even noticed that we're watching them; they're in a world of their own." She sighs wistfully.

"You know, they're all watching us, right?" Neil murmurs, a smile tugging at his lips when he sees her fighting her own smile.

"I thought I felt eyes burning into the back of my skull," Grace admits, blinking her dark eyes at him, "Terry and Banksy know." Seeing his questioning look Grace adds to the statement. "They spoke with me earlier, they were quite nice actually; they didn't tease me too much," she shakes her head lightly, "I'm sure that won't last long though," she laughs quietly.

Seeing her hair fall from behind her ear, Neil tucks it back there again, murmuring absently: "Well, I'm sure we can give them something more to talk about," he laughs. "Come on, lets go eat. I'm starved." As if on cue his stomach rumbles loudly, causing them to both look down at it and chuckle.

Placing his hand on her lower back possessively Neil guides her back to the table, letting her slide into the booth fist. Seeing the smirks Neil asks, "What?" false-impatiently, fighting to hide his grin.

"Nothing, nothing at all boss," Terry smirks, peering at his food.

Sitting around chatting and laughing in the warm atmosphere, the time flies by and soon they have all finished their food and are heading back to the station to their respective cars.

Waving goodbye to Terry, Mickey, Banksy and Stevie, Grace turns around and leans on Neil's car.

"So I guess you want a ride home," Neil purrs, sauntering up to her. Stopping a few inches from her, he places his hand on her hips to draw her closer.

Circling her arms around his neck, Grace murmurs; "If that wouldn't be too much trouble," bringing her lips closer to his. Moving so her lips are only a hairs breath away, Grace slides her tongue over his bottom lip.

"Hmmm, I guess not," he whispers hoarsely before pulling her flush against him. Capturing her lips he makes quick work of opening her mouth by tugging at her bottom lip with his teeth.

However just as his hands begin to wander, Grace pushes him back with gentle pressure on his chest. Raising his eyebrows at her, he waits for the forthcoming explanation.

"Although the team knows, I don't think we should be advertising this in the middle of the station car park," Grace chuckles deeply, eyes conveying her regret that they couldn't continue.

Looking around as if suddenly realising where they were, Neil becomes quite sheepish. "Sorry, I forgot where we were," he coughs awkwardly, pulling away slightly.

"Me too, although we can have some more privacy at your place," Grace suggests.

His eyes light up at the thought. _Really? Whoa,_ "Who am I to say no to that?" he says huskily, pulling open his car door.

The drive back to his house was silent, both preoccupied with their own thoughts, both nervous and excited at the same time. All too quickly they arrive at Neil's house. Walking in they both seem to stutter to a stop in the hallway, stalling. Neil then coughs again, going to lock the door behind them.

Taking her coat from her Neil places it on the stand and put her bag on the little end table before taking her hand and leading down the hallway and through into the kitchen.

"Drink?" he offers, pulling out a bottle of wine from the fridge. Seeing her only nod in response he grins at her, "Grace, relax, I'm not going to pounce on you," _not yet anyway._

Walking into the living room they both sit stiffly on the couch and Neil puts the T.V. on. Drinking their wine they both start to relax and unwind.

"So what's the plan about going up to your parents then?" Neil asks her.

"Well they haven't finalised yet, but we probably head up there on Friday and come back on Sunday, if that's okay?" Grace tells him.

"Yeah, that's fine, do you want me to drive?" He asks, taking a sip of his wine.

"Oh, no you won't have to, my father is sending a car," Grace says watching him for his reaction.

_Sending a car? "_Sending a car?" Neil squeaks.

"Uh yeah, erm, well y'see, my father knows I don't like driving so he offered for his driver to come and pick me up," She answers, chewing her lip.

"His driver? Cor, I wish I could afford a driver," Neil says offhandedly. Sensing a slight change of mood, Neil turns the conversation away from that. "Anyway, enough about your father, I have other things on my mind," he growls the last bit, leaning over to her and placing a kiss on her cheek.

Seeing a smile appear on her face, along with a nice blush, Neil grins back at her. Playing with a strand of her hair Neil leans over and kisses her again. Cupping her face with one hand he places his wine glass on the coffee table, then takes Grace's glass out of her hand on puts it down as well.

Kissing her again Neil pushes her into the corner of the sofa, deepening the kiss. Slowly he begins to push her top up making contact with her skin, feeling Grace pull him closer he doesn't resist, laying on her. Sensing things getting heated really quickly Neil breaks the kiss. "Maybe we should move this somewhere else?" he suggests, desire lacing his words. Feeling her nod against him he gets off. Not literally.

Standing up in front of the sofa, he offers his hand to her.

Taking the offered hand Grace pulls herself up, smiling shyly at him.

Neil leads her along the path to his bedroom, struggling to keep his heartbeat level, licking his suddenly dry lips. He swallowed the nerves that had built up in a matter of seconds, and shuts the bedroom door behind them, drawing her close against his body.

Hands caressing her face softly, brushing a curl behind her ear. He could feel her tremble beneath his hands, and it sent a thrill shooting through his body._ So I'm not the only one._

Grace sensed it, sensed the subtle change in his body, and pressed closer to him. She presses her mouth against his, soft at first, and then intensifies it. Her hands went up the back of his shirt, sliding along his muscles, his soft skin.

Neil follows her lead, one hand creeping up her back, under her shirt, unhooking her bra in seconds. He drew both hands down her back, along her sides, up to her breasts.

She inhaled sharply as his hands made contact, and felt a tingle travel down her body.

She opens her mouth, deepening the kiss, and simultaneously began working on the buttons on his shirts. _I'm so glad he already has his tie off._

Neil stills her hands once she had undone his buttons, slipping the shirt off himself. He moves his hands back toward her top, pulling it gently above her head, and letting her bra fall to the ground.

He presses himself back against her, the feel of their bare skin touching adding fuel to an already stoked fire. It roared through them like a wild thing suddenly released from its cage, all the pent up energy over the last few days and their emotions which were swirling around in their heads were coming to the surface.

Making quick work of her trousers, Neil feels her hands brushing his belt and zipper and groaned aloud when she brushed against his already painfully strong erection. _Oh god. _Finally Grace undoes his trousers and lets them fall to the floor, where he quickly steps out of them._ Thank god for that._

In only their underwear, still joined by the mouth and the need to keep flesh against flesh, Neil eases them onto the bed, pulling her with him.

Rolling herself on top, Grace kisses along the soft skin of his chest, teasing a nipple, her tongue slipping dangerously under the band of his boxer-briefs, before moving back toward his face.

Neil lay back, breathing heavily, gasping now and again and moaning as she teased. He watched her above him, breasts dangling before his eyes as he squirmed as she sucked an earlobe; he felt his blood rush down his body, making him harder,_ if that's possible._

She felt him too, and it momentarily distracted her. Neil took the opportunity to roll them back so he was on top.

Grace gasped in surprised, but didn't fight him; it was his turn to tease. He placed soft butterfly kisses along her stomach, before travelling up to her breasts, the kisses deepening as he moved around her body.

Grace moaned and arched her back, grabbing handfuls of his hair. He moved to her neck, kissing along her collarbone, smiling as she gave him the reaction he wanted.

She whimpered, gasped, moaned, and murmured his name quietly. He could feel her pulse racing beneath his lips, and chose that moment to slowly slide his hand inside her panties.

Grace gave a shuddering gasp as his fingers slid inside her, breath coming even faster than it had been. ._How does this man know _exactly_ what to do?_ She managed to think as she arched her back. He worked his fingers inside her, watching her arch her back again. He intensified his delicate movements, and she gave a strangled cry and bucked wildly on the bed. Desperate, she scrabbled at the sheets, her breath coming in struggled gasps.

Neil's pulse was racing, and his own breath was beginning to come faster. With one hand, he gently slid her panties down and off her legs, having already gotten his off. While she was still writhing and breathing heavily, he captured her lips, and slid inside her in one smooth move.

Her body shuddered beneath his, as she tightened around him, arching her back again to meet him. He paused, waiting until she was comfortable with him.

Slowly he started thrusting into her, building up as he went along; his thrusting grew in intensity as he watched Grace writhing beneath him lost in ecstasy. Her grip tightened around his back, and she contracted around him, pushing him to the edge.

They finally came, screaming each other's names, before falling breathless back to the bed. Grace held him inside her for a few seconds longer, not wanting to give up the feeling up quite yet. They lay catching their breath for several minutes.

Neil resting his head just below Grace's collar-bone, arms still holding each other. They seemed to sense when they were both ready as he slid from her.

Lying down on his back next to her all Neil could manage was a very breathy "Wow," earning a chuckle from beside him. Looking over he sees Grace covered in a fine sheen of sweat, her eyes ablaze with _something._ He couldn't quite place it.

Moving onto her side she leans over and places a kiss on his lips, getting a grin as a reward. "I'm never going to give you up," she hears him murmur in her ear. Pulling back Grace beams a smile at him and then lies down against his side.

Neil pulled his arms tighter around her side, pulling her closer. He inhaled the scent of her skin, and closed his eyes. Letting out a relaxed sigh sleep pulls them both into their own dreams.

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	10. Chapter 10

**Next chapter folks!**

**A huge sorry for how long it has been for this chapter to be uploaded. I know what it is like when stories don't get updated in ages, and you start to get annoyed.**

**Thanks for sticking with it.**

**Big thanks to my beta reader Laura.**

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**Hope you enjoy this one.**

**Next chapter is the last one.**

"So what do your parents do then?" Neil asks, perched on the sofa. He'd just realised that he hardly knows anything about Grace's family life, and more importantly, he doesn't know what to expect upon meeting them.

"Well my mother is recently retired, she was a teacher, but now she's more of the permanent babysitter for my nephews. My father owns his own company," she says thoughtfully, squinting at the coffee table. "He deals with computers and bits like that, and my brother runs a consultancy company; not sure if he'll be there or not though," He makes a little noise in the back of his throat, nodding absently when she glances his way. The coffee table really is interesting.

"So you're the only police officer then?"

"Yeah," she nods, "they're okay with it- although, my father does wish I'd leave." She nearly laughs when his eyes widen and he looks up at her with something akin to panic. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving my job," she chuckles.

Relaxing at her words, Neil swings his arm around her, pulling her close. "Good, I can't be losing you now I finally have you, can I?" He pauses, "So... I have nothing to worry about with your parents, they aren't going to give me the third degree, 'the talk', or show me any embarrassing pictures of you, right?" he asks hesitantly.

She laughs, burying her face in the side of his neck, "No, you should be alright." Hearing a car pull up outside, Grace peers out of the window "We'll find out soon though, car's here,"

Gathering up the bags they both proceed to walk out of the door towards the car.

"Paul!" Grace says "How are you? I haven't seen you in a very long time," she greets him with a hug.

"Hey Grace," he smiles, hugging her in return. "Yeah, not too bad. The boss gave me some time off, we've had another kid," he beams.

"Oh, congratulations! I'll have to ring Helen and speak with her," she steps back, grinning.

"Yeah, she'll love that," Looking over her shoulder, he spies Neil standing stiffly with the bags, looking most decidedly out of place. "So, you going to introduce me then?" he nods toward Neil with a raised brow.

"Oh yes, Paul this is Neil, Neil this is Paul. He works for my father," Grace introduces the pair.

After the men greet each other warily, Paul loads the bags in the boot. "Shall we get going then?" Grace asks.

"Yup, your father is awfully anxious to see you Gracey, so we better make a move," Paul chuckles, sliding into the drivers seat.

The car journey was pretty quiet, both over-run with their own thoughts of what they would expect when they got there, and Paul just cranked up the radio.

Pulling up outside the house a couple of hours later, Neil swallows down the nerves that have risen up. "Grace..." He breathes, looking from the house to her and back again, "What did you say your dad did again?" He didn't squeak. He definitely didn't. _The house is huge! – Actually, that's an understatement, it's bloody massive!_

Looking back over at Grace when he gets no answer, he sees that she has become quite nervous, chewing her lip and not making eye contact with him. Taking her hand Neil shifts in his seat turning to her. "What's wrong?"

Looking up Grace catches Paul's eye; with a quick affirmative nod, he exits the vehicle leaving them alone. "Neil, listen; my family are- they are quite rich, I don't uh- not many people really know,"

_Rich? I'd have never have guessed, what with the castle-sized house an all! "_Grace, don't worry about it, I don't want you for your family money, you know that," He squeezes her hands, trying to reassure her. "I didn't even know, see?"

Seeing her still unsure, he lightens the mood a bit. "Y'know," he pauses dramatically and puts on a face of mock suspicion, "I _am_ an inspector, I do earn a fair bit of money myself… How do I know you aren't with me for _my_ money?" He grins when she smirks.

"Damn, I was hoping I could keep that a secret," she chuckles. Leaning over and placing a kiss on his lips, she sticks her hand on the door handle. "You ready then?"

He nods hesitantly, "As I will ever be," he flashes a quick grin.

Getting out of the car Neil walks around to the other side before Grace can get out herself. Opening the door he helps her out, holding her hand "Just promise me one thing?" he whispers into her ear. Seeing her questioning look he carries on "Don't leave me alone," he says. He didn't plead. Nope. Definitely not.

She smirks evilly, "Aw, come now, you're a big boy, you could handle it."

"Please," he whines. "I can feel the stares already burning into my skull,"

Laughing, she looks over his shoulder and spies her mother and father standing at the front door. She glances back to Neil who had gone a little paler, "Come on," she whispers, half dragging him with her.

Standing stiffly at the foot of the steps Neil watches Grace greet her mother and father with hugs. Just seeing her with them Neil can tell straight away that she is relaxing. Pulling away, she turns to him – or rather, she waves an arm in his direction.

"Neil, this is my Father Jamal and my mother, Jesminder. Mum, Dad, this is Neil, he-uh, I asked him to accompany me," she frowns._ What do I call him; boyfriend? Sounds like I'm a kid again! Partner? Is that too worky? Guess I'll have to talk to him about that._

Snapping out of her thoughts she watches Neil greet her father with a handshake.

"Pleasure to meet you Sir," Neil says firmly, trying to keep his nerves down. _Kinda hot all of a sudden. _He thinks, trying desperately not to tug at his collar. _I feel like a bloody teenager!_

"Yes, well Gracie hasn't said a lot about you, so I'll see," Jamal replies, releasing his hand. Looking over to Grace, he sees that she is glaring daggers at him. If looks could kill? He'd be on the floor right now._ Same glare as her mother._

"Oh don't you be listening to him dear, he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Grace's mother assures him in the comforting voice only a mother has.

Flicking his eyes over to Jamal, Neil sees him raise an eyebrow at his wife. "Er- yes ma'am," Neil puts his hand up to shake hers, "Pleasure to meet you as well, ma'am."

Waving a dismissive hand at him, "Oh none of that now dear, call me Jess," she says, pouncing on him with a hug and peck on the cheek. Smiling re-assuredly, she releases him and looks over to Grace "Shall we go in then? I've got lunch ready."

Turning around she grabs her husband's arm and proceeds to drag him inside, muttering to him, "You could of been a bit nicer to him, it's not like Grace normally brings boys to meet us." She glares, "Be nice from now on mister," she digs him in the ribs with her elbow, "or else." she finishes, leaving it open.

Sighing, and knowing full well that he would not win against her , he folds. "Yes dear."

Placing a hand on her back Neil unconsciously leads Grace into the castl- _house,_ behind her parents. He lets out a breath he didn't realize that he was holding. "You okay?" Grace asks from his side.

"Yeah," he mumbles, still staring wide-eyed at everything around him.

Sitting in the lounge eating lunch, the four of them chat, with Grace catching them up with what was happening in her life as of late. However the news of Grace being injured last week did not go down well with her father.

"You let her get hurt! What the hell were you doing? Sitting in your office having a cup of tea?" Standing up Jamal paces back and forth in front of them, -in-front of their coffee table- running a hand through his hair repeatedly. _Gracie hurt? She's leaving the police now. I don't care what she says._

"How the hell can you call yourself a copper? You're supposed to protect people and you can't even protect your own team!" He yells, coming to a halt in front of Neil, throwing his hands up in the air exasperatedly when he gets no response. "Well?"

Standing up abruptly, leaving only a foot of space between them, Neil stares directly into Jamal's eyes, clenching his fists at his side and ignoring the twitch of his left eye. His voice came out so quietly that all occupants stopped breathing to better hear the words. "Don't you think I haven't beaten myself up over Grace getting hurt? It was the last thing I wanted, I would of rather been there than let her go, I will never forgive myself for letting her get in that position. _Never._"

"And I don't need you,-" Neil points a finger at Jamal, "-to remind _me_, that I got the woman I love hurt. Nothing I can ever do will make up for that! Grace has for some unknown reason forgiven me, and I _will _make it up to her some day." Dropping his hand -which was still pointing at Jamal-, Neil suddenly remembers where they were.

He steps back, showing a little submission. Glancing to the side, he sees that Grace is standing there glaring, but not at him; at her father. _Oh great, the last thing I wanted was to cause a rift between them two._

Flicking guilty eyes over to Jess, he is surprised to see that she has a ghost of a smile on her lips.Replaying the speech over in his head, it dawns on him._ Oh god, I said I loved her… to her parents! I haven't even told Grace yet and I'm declaring it to her father! God, I'm a dead man. _

Looking back over to Grace he sees her mouth moving, talking to her father, but he can't hear them over the blood pounding in his ears.Looking back at Jamal, he sees that he's not saying anything. _Maybe I shocked him as much as I shocked myself._

The next thing Neil knows is he is being dragged out of the lounge and up a set of stairs. Being pushed onto a bed, he sits on the edge. He looks at Grace for the first time since being dragged from the lounge.

"Grace," he whispers, watching her come over to the bed and silently sit next to him. Unable to read her expression, he begins to panic. "Grace, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I –uh. I don't… think I could have made a worse impression," he gives up in the end, hanging his head.

Laughter was not what he was expecting to hear. Lifting his head back up he sees Grace has fallen onto the bed behind them still laughing, holding her sides. _Has she flipped? What is there to laugh about?_ "Grace?" He asks, eyebrow lifted.

"Oh I'm sorry Neil, it's just so funny," she whimpers, stifling her laughter. Sitting up again she looks at him, "Neil, I don't think my father has ever been spoken to like that before. He's used to getting his own way with no one standing up to him," she says amusedly, "I think you and him will get on fine." Becoming serious Grace looks at him intently. "I do have one thing to say though,"

Taking his hands Grace looks up from them to his face, "I don't want you beating yourself up over what happened Neil; it wasn't your fault." She shakes her head softly, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

Shaking his head urgently, Neil gets up and paces across the room, running a hand through his hair. "No Grace, I- I can't just- just _forget_ what happened… I've tried but I can't. I meant every word I said down there," he turns back to face her with dark, soulful eyes.

"_Every_ word?" Grace asks, peering up at him from under her lashes.

"Every word," Neil whispers, walking back over to her. He squats in front of her, gently cupping her hands in his.

Taking a steadying breath he looks into her eyes. "Grace, I know that we've only been… Well, been 'us'-" he waves a hand between them, "-for a little while, but I have felt something for you for a very, _very_ long time, and I guess I only acknowledged what it is when I was downstairs…" He glances away from her, the intimacy a little too much. "Hell, I didn't even know I said it until I replayed the conversation." He chuckles.

Watching Grace just stare at him for a few moments in comfortable silence, Neil gets up and sits beside her on the bed. Turning to her, still holding her hand, he explains further. "I don't expect you to say anything, I know it's probably a lot to take in, I just want you to know that I meant it. Every word," he smiles reassuringly, non-threateningly.

Leaning over Neil places a gentle kiss on her lips, only staying there for a few moments. Neil starts to pull back but Grace snakes her arm around his neck, pulling him back in for another kiss. Tongues duelling in the dance that they have begun to love, they both fall back onto the bed, Neil moving so he's lying half on top of her.

Exploring the body which he now has the pleasure to call his, he slips his hand under her top tracing shapes on her side, making her giggle softly, in turn breaking their kiss.

Grinning, Neil opens his mouth to growl a playful command at her, but a light a knock on the door stops him completely. Eyes widening in panic, Neil jumps off of Grace and stands by the bed as if he had just been electrocuted, putting on his most innocent face.

Still lying on the bed, Grace raises her eyebrow at him, trying very hard not to burst out laughing.

"Grace, are you in there?" A voice floats in from the hallway with louder knock.

"Coming," Grace calls, getting off of the bed at a leisurely pace. Grace opens the door to her mother with a smile. "How is he?" Grace asks, peering down the hallway.

"Stubborn as always," Jess laughs heartily. Looking over at Neil, her eyes soften as he shifts awkwardly. "Neil honey, don't listen to him, honestly; he is just very protective and he doesn't like the fact that there's someone else who has taken his place in protecting Grace," she smiles softly, as if consoling a panicked rabbit.

Neil says nothing, only nodding in reply. _Well at least one of Grace's parents doesn't hate me._

"Come on, let's go back down stairs. As much as you two probably want to stay in the bedroom, I haven't seen you in a long time darling," Jess says with a hidden smile, walking back out of the bedroom.

Staring at her opened mouthed, Grace splutters for a bit before finally hissing: "Mother!" and trying in vain to get her feet moving.

"Who knew your mother would have such a dirty mind?" Neil laughs, walking up behind Grace, a slight blush tingeing his features.

"Yeah," Grace murmurs, embarrassedly. Grabbing his hand they both head back down stairs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After both men shook hands, the next couple of hours go by quite quickly with the family discussing what would be happening tomorrow.

"Sam and the kids will be coming over tomorrow," Jess says as they all settle down after dinner, the TV on in the background. "They heard you were coming, so they wanted to see you," Jess pats Graces' knee.

Grace nods. "What time they getting here?" She questions.

"Around twelve, so there'll be plenty of time to relax in the morning," Jess winks at Neil, causing him to blush and avert his eyes to the TV.

"How old are they?" Neil asks, trying to calm down his blush.

"Kieran is 13 and Jacob is 11. They haven't seen Grace in a while," Jamal puts in, watching the TV keenly.

Considering this was the first time Jamal had acknowledged Neil since this afternoon, Neil managed to hide his surprise quite well, just nodding in reply.

With the silence starting to creep in on them all, Jess starts up the conversation again. "Do you have any children Neil, dear?"

Snapping his head up he looks up at Jess, blinking a few times before clearing his throat self-consciously and swallowing. "Uh, yes; a son, he is the same age as Kieran actually," he explains, clearing his throat again.

He squeezes Graces' hand when she slips it inside his. Looking down at their joined hands, he sees Grace give a slight shake of her head to her parents._ Always looking out for me_, he thinks, feeling a warm stir in the pit of his stomach, before squeezing her hand again.

The sound of the telephone ringing brings Neil back into the present. Watching Jamal get up and answer the phone he looks over at Grace. She leans her head on the back of the sofa and closes her eyes.

"You okay?" Neil asks after watching Jess leave the room. He places his arm on the back of the sofa behind her head.

"Yep, just a bit tired, that's all." Turning her head to the side, she gives him a quick smile, reassuring him.

"Why don't you go up and have a bath, just relax for a bit?" Neil suggests, twirling a curl of her hair.

"What, and leave you here alone?" Grace retorts with a grin, raising an eyebrow.

_She's getting good at that eyebrow thing, _He inwardly snorts. "I'll be fine, this is about you anyways, don't worry about me; I can survive. For a while, anyway," he chuckles, smiling.

Leaning over she plants a quick kiss on his lips, whispering 'thank you' before informing her parents that she'll be going for a bath and to go easy on Neil.

Filling the next hour with random bits of conversation mainly from Jess, Neil makes his excuses and goes upstairs to check on Grace.

Digging him hard in the side of the ribs, Jess scolds her husband. "You can make a bit more of an effort y'know," She scowls, "She's finally found someone who she's genuinely happy with."

Looking up at the ceiling Jamal rolls his eyes, "Don't start Jess." He turns to put the kettle on.

"I will. Grace isn't your baby girl anymore, she's an adult and you need to respect her decisions." Seeing that his attention had moved back to her, she rages on. "Neil seems like a nice guy and what's most important is her happiness," she clasps his hand, "Try. Please."

Closing his eyes, Jamal swipes his thumb over her palm, sitting down. "I just don't want her to be used, liked what happened with Sam." He gulps, looking down at his wife with pleading eyes. "I don't want her heart broken like his was," Jamal replies with a pained expression.

"I know you don't, nor do I, but Grace doesn't go and date anyone and everyone; this is the first time we've actually met someone she's with; it must mean that Neil is a good man. Knowing Grace she probably hasn't even said to him about her trust fund." Standing up, Jess pulls his arm, "Come on, lets go make some drinks."

"Okay, okay," he play-grumbles, standing up. Jamal pulls his wife towards him, planting a chaste kiss on her lips. "Mmmph, you are so good for me. I love you," he mumbles.

"Well, you know _I'm_ only with you for _your_ money," Jess whispers. Upon seeing her husbands eyes widen and his jaw slacken in shock, she darts from the kitchen, giggling.

"Hey!" Jamal laughs, chasing after his wife with a grin plastered on his face.

Opening the bedroom door slowly after not getting a reply from his knocking, Neil pokes his head in. "Grace?" he asks looking around the room.

Walking into the room fully, he smiles when he sees Grace lying on the bed, fast asleep. Sitting down carefully on the edge, Neil traces a finger down her face, moving the hair out of her eyes. "Grace," he whispers. Seeing her shift in response, he tries again.

"Come on Grace, you better wake up," he says quietly, patting her arm gently.

Opening her eyes slowly, Grace smiles when his face comes into focus. "Hey," she clears her throat. "Sorry, I didn't know I fell asleep." She whispers, as if there was someone going to overhear.

"No worries," he smiles down at her dishevelled appearance.

Getting up and swapping her dressing gown for some joggers and a top, they both make their way back downstairs.

"Ah, there you are," Jamal greets them as they enter the living room. "Thought you had gone to bed already," he grins at Grace as Neil shifts uncomfortably. Passing them both a drink, they all sit back down, more relaxed than before Neil left.

With Grace attempting to hide a yawn, they all decide it is time to head off of to bed a little while later.

Opening his eyes, Neil quickly slams them closed, biting back a curse as the stream of sunlight momentarily blinds him. He feels something moving on him and stills instantly.

Looking over gingerly, he sees Grace starting to stir. He smiles, tightening his arm around her. "Morning," he murmurs.

"Mmm, morning," Grace replies, voice heavy with disuse. Lifting her head up she gives him a smile, "How'd you sleep?" she asks, resting her head on his chest.

"Great. You?" He plants a kiss on the top of her head.

"Snap." Stretching her body awake, she inadvertently pushes her body flush along his, causing a groan to leave Neil. She just grins at him. "Come on, we'd better get up and get ready."

_Get up? She does _that_ and expects us to get up? _"Eurgh, why?" He whines, "Your mum said we had until twelve 'till they get here," Neil pouts, pulling her closer to him as she tried to wiggle away. "Nooo," Neil moans childishly as she slips from his clutches.

Laughing at his pouting face, Grace leans up and gives him a peck on the lips. "You're cute when you pout," she grins at his indignant face.

"_Cute_? I wasn't exactly aiming for _cute,_" he whines again. Hearing her laugh, he grins to himself.

"Okay, if you say so. But, we _had_ better get up; knowing my brother, he'll be here by ten, even though he said twelve," she grumbles, patting his chest. Grace gets up and heads into the en-suite, going about her morning routine.

"Fine, but I'm not happy about it," Neil mutters after her. Grabbing a pillow, he places it over his face to block out the sun, which was still annoying him. _Ahhh god, it even smells of her,_ he breathes in the scent of Grace.

Hearing the door open to the en-suite, Neil lifts the pillow off. Lifting his head, he sees Grace standing by the door in a t-shirt. "Have you come to take pity on me?" He asks, dropping his head back down._ Hang on. Just a t-shirt! _Sitting upright on the bed, Neil rakes his eyes up and down Grace'slong legs disappearing under the top which was hanging down to her mid thighs_. Hmmm I wonder if I can get a look underneath there._

"Well…I was thinking…" Grace starts off, leaning against the doorframe. "It may… be quicker if we… have a shower… together," she finishes, a smile tugging at her lips.

Eyes widening at the mere thought of it, "Really?" he squeaks, not moving from the bed.

"I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think it was a good idea," she replies, scampering back into the en-suite, not looking back.

_I am one lucky man,_ he thinks, scrambling off the bed and rushing into the bathroom after the woman he loves.

Sitting in the garden they all look towards the back doors when they hear the distinct sound of children running through the house.

'_Aunt Grace! Aunt Grace!' _Is all Neil can hear echoing from within the house. _Huh, like one of those horror movies, _he thinks with an inward snort.

Standing up, Grace turns towards the doors with a huge grin on her face. She doesn't get a chance to do anything else before she's nearly knocked over by the kids bombarding her with hugs. Settling on her knees she engulfs the children in their own hug.

_I've missed you Aunt Grace_,_ did you miss me? I miss you too Aunt Grace, I missed you more! Are you here all day? Can we stay over dad?_ Both children throw question after question at Grace.

"Woah, calm down guys, I missed you both and yes I am here all day. I'm not going home until tomorrow." Releasing them from the hug, Grace stands up.

Watching the kids go and greet their grandparents, Grace looks back at the house, smiling when she sees him. Leaning against the doorframe with a cheeky grin on his frame was her brother. Holding his arms out Grace willingly goes to him.

"Hey you," Sam whispers into hair as he gives her a cuddle.

"Hey yourself," Grace replies, squeezing him tightly.

Pulling away from the hug Sam holds her at arm's length, giving her the once-over. "How are you doing?" Completing a visual inspection of his sister, seeing her nod and blush slightly, he gets the desired response. "Good,-although you do look a bit different…" trailing off.

Getting a roll of the eyes as a response, he chuckles "Yep, something is different alright, c'mere," he pulls her into another hug.

"I've missed you sis," he whispers again.

"I've missed you too," Grace replies.

Looking over her shoulder Sam sees Neil standing there, looking a bit out of place as he watches the kids jump all over their grandparents. "Do we owe it to him, the change in you?" Sam queries.

Pulling out of the hug, Grace releases her brother, just smiling at him. "Come on, you can meet him," she beams, grabbing his hand and pulling him over to Neil.

Letting go, she stands next to Neil. "Neil, as you can probably guess, this is Sam, my brother. Sam, this is Neil," she waves a hand between them, still unsure of the label she should give Neil.

Standing there, watching them both sizing the other up, Grace starts chewing her bottom lip. _How long have they been staring at each other? I forgot how over-protective Sam is._ When she sees Sam nod slightly, to himself or her she wasn't sure. _Finally._

"Nice to meet you," Sam says in a manly way, sticking his hand out towards Neil.

"Likewise," Neil replies in an equally manly way, gripping Sam's hand in a firm handshake. _Better response than from Graces' father. I can finally thank all of my college girlfriends' over-protective siblings for the experience._

"So… do I thank _you_ for making Grace the happiest I've seen her in a long time?" Sam asks, grinning when Grace blushes darkly.

"Sam," Grace manages to whinge out.

Chuckling Neil takes Graces' hand in his, "I'm not sure about that, I'll let Grace decide though," Grinning more when she buries her head in his shoulder.

"Why? Why me?" she mumbles into his shoulder, sounding for all the world like her life was falling down around her ears.

"Only teasing sis," Sam pats her on the back lightly. "Come on Neil, I'll introduce you to the kids," he jerks his head over to them.

Taking her head off of his shoulder, Grace grins at him, "You okay?"

"Yeah, at least he seems to like me somewhat," he replies. Turning around they both start to walk over to Sam and his kids.

"Yeah, don't worry about my brother, he's much more understanding than my father is… bu-ut, the real test now is the kids," she teases.

Coming to a halt in front of the trio, all Neil can seem to do is grin. He knows it makes him look silly, he can feel it, but he just can't stop.

"Neil, this is my son Kieran, 13 and this is Jacob who's 10. Guys, this is Neil, an uh-, a _friend_ of Graces'." He shrugs at the end of the sentence, unsure of how to describe Neil and Grace's relationship.

"Hey there," Neil says to them, getting nervous all of a sudden and trying not to call them 'lil guy' as Jake says that makes him feel stupid when adults call him it._ They're kids, why am I so bloody nervous?_

Peering up at Neil with bright innocent eyes, "Are you Aunt Grace's boyfriend?" Jacob asks.

_That's why._ "Uh-I-uh…" Looking over at Grace for help, he sees that he isn't going to get any as she is trying to hold in her laughter. Looking back at Jacob, he sees that he is still waiting for an answer. "I guess so," taking Grace's hand in his and giving it a squeeze.

"What do you do, do you work with Aunt Grace?" Kieran pipes up with a shit-eating grin, sensing the tension.

"Yeah, I work with Grace, I'm a police officer too," Neil informs him. _Same age as Jake, I can handle him._

"Isn't that against the rules then, if you work with her you can't be her boyfriend," Kieran states.

Frowning slightly, he looks over to Grace who also has a perplexed look on her face.

"What do you mean Kieran?" Grace asks him. Bending down to his eye level, "Who told you that?"

"No one, that's what _always_ happens on the TV shows. If you work with each other you can't be boyfriend and girlfriend." Kieran says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Opening her mouth to respond, she's beaten to it by Neil.

"Ah, you see, I'm the boss, so I can do what I like, and no-one can stop me," Neil replies with a grin when Grace stands beside him once again.

"Cool! Are you like, in charge of everyone?" Kieran's eyes light up.

"Not everyone, but a lot of people though," he replies, stuffing his hands in his pockets and rolling back onto his heels slightly.

"Cool, can you drive really fast? Do you have a gun? Have you got a police car here?" Kieran asks, peering around the yard as if it would suddenly appear before him.

"Whoa, calm down squirt. I'm sure Neil will answer whatever questions you want but you have to give him a chance," Sam interjects, turning to Grace. "Come on, I can see that we ain't needed here any more," he laughs.

Smiling at Neil Grace walks away with her brother and Jacob, who quickly tires of the siblings and runs off to his grandparents, leaving Grace and Sam alone.

Taking a seat on the patio, they watch Neil and Kieran sit down on the grass and start chatting away as if Neil was a kid again, waving his arms about comically.

"He seems nice," Sam says, a little suspicion in his voice.

Smiling at the scene, Grace turns to look at her brother. "He is; he's a good man, Sam," she says, a content smile on her face.

Nodding, Sam assures her that he's fine. "As long as you're happy Sis, that's all that matters."

Blushing, Grace ducks her head down, peering back at Neil and Keiran from under her lashes, "I am, I really am."

"Good." They lapse in conversation for a moment. "How was dad with him?" He asks the one question that had been on his mind since getting here, smirking when she rolls her eyes.

"Terrible as usual, they both actually _argued_ yesterday," she informs him with a scowl. Getting a raised eyebrow Grace fills him in on yesterday's events.

"Impressive, I like this guy even more now," Sam chuckles, "I don't know anyone who has stood up to dad and got away with it!"

Catching up with each other, time goes by until their mother is calling them all in for lunch. Standing up they wait for Neil and Kieran to reach them.

"Alright?" Sam asks Kieran.

Nodding eagerly, Kieran goes into an exciting dialogue. "He's well cool dad, he was telling me loads of stories, and he has a son the same age as me too, he said I can meet him if I want. Isn't that cool?" Kieran bounces around on the spot.

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Neil apologises. "Sorry, he was just asking a _lot_ of questions."

Laughing loudly, Sam assures Neil that it's all good. "Don't worry about it; I know what he's like when he gets going. Come on kiddo, give Neil a break for a bit, Nan's got lunch ready," they wander into the house.

"You okay?" Grace asks Neil, grabbing his hand.

Smiling, "Couldn't be better, he's a great kid." Giving her a quick peck on her lips, "Let's go eat, shall we?" leading her back into her house.

"Gladly," Grace responds, letting Neil pull her in.

Sitting around the living room for lunch, everyone is calm and relaxed before a phone ringing stops conversation.

Realising that it's his mobile, Neil pulls it out of his trousers, "Sorry," he says to the table in general. Going to reject the call, Neil stops when he sees who is calling, a frown marring his features.

Looking up at everyone, "Sorry, I need to take this," standing up, he heads outside into the garden, but not before answering the call. "Sir?"

Frowning Grace follows his movements outside with her eyes, watching him pace up and down and then halt, turning an interesting shade of white.

"Sir?" Sam queries towards Grace.

"Yeah, that would be the DCI," she replies absently, still watching Neil's not moving.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Sir?" Neil asks into the phone.

"Neil, sorry to interrupt your leave, but I thought I ought to let you know first," Meadows voice comes through the phone.

Pacing up and down, "What's wrong Sir?" _It must be important if he is ringing me when he knows I'm with Grace._

The next words stop him dead in his tracks, "Its Pearson," Meadows says.

**Well… what did you all think?**

**Next chapter will wrap everything up and will be the last one.**

**Thank you for reading.**

**Please R & R guys**


	11. Chapter 11

**Well everybody this is the last chapter!**

**Thank you again Laura; my beta reader she has been great!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope you have enjoyed the story all together**

**Thank you once again for all of the reviews **

**Previously**

"Sir?" Neil asks into the phone.

"Neil sorry to interrupt your leave, but I thought I ought to let you know first," Meadows voice comes through the phone.

Pacing up and down, "What's wrong Sir?" _it must be important if he's ringing me when he knows I'm with Grace._

The next words stop him dead in his tracks, "Its Pearson," Meadow says.

**Continuation **

Flicking his eyes up to Grace, he sees that she is watching him; turning away he walks down the steps onto the lawn. "What happened?" he asks, fearing the worse._ Escaped? On his way here? Has he sent someone to get Grace? God, I gotta get her away. _

Hearing the panic in his question, Meadows lets out a deep breath. "Neil, don't panic; it's not what you're thinking," he pauses, choosing his words carefully. "As you know, he was on remand for court… Well, it seems that he realized that he was heading for a long spell in prison,"

"And?" Neil pushes after a few moments of tense silence. Turning around to glance back to the house, he runs a hand through his hair. _Why can't this guy just get out of her life? Although if he set out to ruin it, he's doing an awful good jo-_ Meadows voice cuts back in, stopping all train of thought.

"They found him this morning, hanging in his cell- they're treating it as suicide." He rushes, holding his breath when Neil says nothing.

Neil blinks in surprise. _Well, that wasn't on my long list of bad things_. "I uh- I don't know what to say… relieved would be a word I would use though," he chuckles morbidly.

"Yeah, I was pretty much the same really; at least Grace will never be bothered by him again," Jack smiles through the phone.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Neil nods absently. "Do you want to tell Grace?" He asks, already knowing the answer. 

"I thought you could do it, since you're there; I don't think this should be told to her over the phone."

Shaking his head, "No, you're right, I'll tell her. I'm not sure how she's going to react though, to be honest." He slowly starts walking back to the house. "Alright, sir, thank you… I'll call you if I have any problems or any more questions."

"Alright Neil, good luck," Meadows tells him.

"Yeah, thanks," Neil replies absently, ending the call. He stops just before the patio, looking into the house. Seeing that Grace is watching him, he motions for her to come outside. 

"Wonder what that was all about…" Sam says to Grace, watching Neil walk onto the lawn.

"Yeah, I wonder," Grace murmurs back, getting up she walks to the door and watches Neil from the house. _Something is up. _Watching him run his hand through his hair, _he only does that when he's stressed._

Watching him standing still gives a chance for Grace to watch him without him noticing her. _Still can't believe it sometimes, me and him. Never would have thought it. _Seeing him walking back to the house Grace expects him to walk back in, however he stops and motion for her to come outside.

_Hmmm, strange_. "Excuse me please," she murmurs absently to the rest of the room. Sliding the door open she heads outside to meet him. Walking up to him she gives him a nervous smile. "Are you okay?" she asks when she reaches him.

Holding out his hand, she takes it automatically; feeling him grip her hand hard and pull her towards him worries her even more especially when he has said nothing. "Neil…" Grace says, searching his eyes for anything but unable to get anything from them.

Trying to give her a smile, but succeeding badly, he squeezes her hand. "Grace, we need to talk." He says.

_Oh god, what wrong? Is he ending things with us? No that can't be it, is it Jake? Has he had a relapse? _"Neil…" is all she can manage to say again.

Spying a bench across the lawn, Neil tugs at her hand "Let's talk over there Grace, I think you need to sit down,"

Frowning slightly, she lets herself be dragged to the bench. "Okay…" _I need to sit down, what's that all about; it's obviously not about Jake then. He must been ending things. Oh god._

Reaching the bench they both sit down. Turning towards her Neil takes her hand once more, opening his mouth to speak before Grace cuts him off.

"Neil, look… if you're ending it between us, then I don't need you beating around the bush I-" She brakes off, shaking her head confusedly at him.

_What! _Thinking to himself, _where the hell has she got that idea from?_ Placing a finger on her lips he silences her. "Grace, what gave you that idea? I told you I'm not giving you up. For anything," Shifting himself closer, he places an arm on the back of the bench.

Frowning once more, "I just thought, as you wanted me to sit down, it must be bad news and that's the only thing I could think of," starting to feel silly once she finished her sentence. _Gotta stop jumping to conclusions Grace! _Sheberates herself.

Shaking his head at her, "No, I'm sorry, I should have phrased it better. That phone call I had…was from Meadows," He pauses, "He, ah, told me some news concerning- concerning…" he glances out toward the lawn, unable to complete the sentence.

_Jesus, has something happened to someone at work?_ "Neil…" she prompts him to say more.

Looking up, and seeing the worry spreading over her face, he takes a deep breath and plunges on "It's regarding Pearson" Hearing a quick intake of breath, he squeezes her hand, knowing what she is thinking, "He hasn't escaped, don't worry," he says, watching the relief flash over her face.

"What is it then?" Grace asks. 

"He uh- they found him this morning in his cell-_hanging,_"Neil tells her, whispering the last part. Watching her eyes for reaction, _surprise, shock, relief_ were just a few emotions which flickered through her mind_. "_Grace?"

Seemingly snapping back into reality "He's dead?" she whispers. Seeing him nod his head, Grace can't help but launch herself into his arms. "He's gone, he won't bother me anymore, he can't hurt me anymore," she mumbles into his shoulder.

Tightening his arm around her slightly, he whispers into her hair: "No, he can't hurt you anymore,"

Staying like that for a while, Grace starts to relax in his arms, his unique scent calming her.

Rubbing his hand up and down her back, offering what little comfort he could, Neil sits there with her until she starts to stir in his arms. Letting her pull away from him he keeps hold of her hands. "You okay?" is the only thing he can think of to say._ Well done dim-wit! You need to read the dictionary more._

Nodding her head, Grace sets to reassure him. "I am. I've thought about this day for a long time, after what he did to me I could never have forgiven him… I'm just glad it's over now. It's like… I can move on," she says, a small smile gracing her features.

"Good. He can't ever hurt you again Grace. Never again." Neil says, running his hands up and down her arms. Seeing movement over her shoulder, he glances over to the house.

Nodding his head in that direction, "Looks like they're getting impatient," he comments when he notices her parents standing on the patio.

Turning in her seat she looks over her shoulder, seeing them wave to her, she waves back briefly. Turning to face Neil again, she sees his hand coming up to her face. Bringing his hand up, he wipes a tear that has slipped out. "Hey," he says softly, chocolate eyes boring into her.

Touching the teardrop on his finger, she wipes it from his hand. "I didn't even notice," she chuckles wryly.

"Come on, I think your parents are getting restless," he says, standing up from the bench.

Spending the rest of the afternoon with Grace's family, it seemed as though Neil had become a hit with the kids. Taking up most of his time, him, Sam and the kids had formed a game of football and were currently being watched by Grace and her parents from the patio area.

"Well, the kids seem to like Neil," Jess comments, chuckling when she sees Sam tackle Neil, the latter stumbling slightly before tearing off after him. "And so does Sam," she laughs, wincing when they both land in a heap on the floor, neither getting the ball.

"Yeah, he does have a way with kids. Like he said, he has his own son," Grace reminds them, not taking her eyes off of Neil.

"How come you didn't want us talking about his son yesterday?" Jamal asks. After watching them two throughout the day, he had made his peace with Grace when seeing how happy she was around him.

"He uh- his son has, uh- He's just been given the all clear from leukemia. It's a long process though," she says, shifting in her seat. "Still a bit sore at the moment to talk about it." They lapse into good natured silence for a few moments before Jess breaks it.

"Do you think we should call it a day?" She says after watching Sam tackle Neil again, _quite badly,_ when they both end up on the floor again.

"Yeah, I think you're right, before one of them gets hurt," Grace agrees, wincing when she sees the tackle.

Standing up Jess waves to them, attempting to capture their attention. When she sees she has most of it, she waves them over. Watching them walking over she smiles when she sees her grandkids racing each other.

"Was well cool Nan, did you see the tackle dad did on Neil?" Jacob asked excitedly, wiping his forehead which was covered in a light sheen of sweat.

"Yeah, we did, that's why it was called a day; before someone got hurt," Jess gently chides her grandson as he approaches her "you do know that it is a friendly game of football, no need to take each other's legs out," she smirks.

Getting a shrug out of Sam, Jess shakes her head and heads inside the house, "Get cleaned up before dinner guys," she calls over her shoulder.

Standing up to meet Neil, Grace goes to reach out to hold his hand, however she pauses when she sees the sheen of sweat on him. "Come on let's get you cleaned up, shall we," she laughs, shaking her head at him. She turns and heads into the house, following her brother and nephews. 

Following her into the house, Neil grins cheekily behind her. Moving closer to her, Neil whispers in her ear to avoid being detected by the family, "You gonna help me?"

Stopping at the base of the stairs, she turns to look at him, "What makes you think I want to be near you at the moment? You're all sweaty," she pulls a face, raising an eyebrow.

Leaning in again he whispers into her ear, "Well… we were both all sweaty the other day, but you weren't complaining then…" He drops his voice an octave on the last few words, trailing a finger down her arm.

Ducking her head as she feels herself blush, Grace swats him gently on the chest, "Come on," she laughs, turning to head up the stairs.

With a shit eating grin, Neil takes the stairs two at a time to catch up with her. "Knew you couldn't resist my awing good charms," he murmurs, chuckling when she shakes her head. _D__efinitely like this type of Grace._

With dinner over and finished with it was time for Sam and the boys to go back home.

"When will we see you again Neil?" Jacob asks with giant eyes.

Bending down to his level, Neil smiles at him. "I'm not sure buddy, but I bet it'll be soon though," he pats him on the shoulder. Satisfied with the answer, Jacob nods at him before giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek and rushes off to say goodbye to his grandparents and Grace.

"Suppose you want a hug from me as well," Kieran says bluntly, approaching Neil.

"Hey don't be so rude," Sam gently punches Kieran on the shoulder.

Standing back up Neil says, "No that's alright, he's thirteen; gotta stay cool," he smirks, holding a hand out.

Nodding his head, Kieran shakes his hand. "See you again?" he asks. 

"No doubt," Neil replies, letting go of his hand and watching him go to Grace. Turning to Sam, he holds a hand out.

Shaking Neil's hand Sam gives him a grin. "Nice to meet you Neil, I'm sure we'll see you again," he winks.

"Yeah, good to meet you too," Neil answers, tactfully ignoring the wink.

Saying goodbye to everyone, Neil, Grace and her parents head back inside after waving them off. Heading back into the living room, they all sit around on the sofas. Chatting away, now more comfortable with each other, the night soon draws to an end and both couples go their separate ways to bed.

With the morning coming round, it's time for more goodbyes. Watching Paul put the bags into the car Grace turns to her parents. "It's been good to catch up mum," Grace says, hugging her.

"Don't leave it too long until next time," Jess whispers "You've got yourself a good one there hun, don't let him go," she adds. Squeezing her tightly she lets her go; looking at Grace she sees the tinge of a light blush on her face.

Smiling in response all Grace can say back to her mother is: "I won't," Moving over to her father, Grace hugs him as well. "Good to see you dad."

"You too darling, come see us soon," He tells her.

Squeezing him tighter, she looks over his shoulder to her mother who was currently embracing Neil, "Will do dad. Don't worry about me." Pulling out of the hug she looks at him, waiting for his reply.

Looking over at Neil, Jamal sighs. Looking back to Grace, he realizes with dismay that he wasn't the only man in his little girls' life anymore. "I will always worry about you hun, but I guess I'm not the only one who will now," he smiles sadly.

Turning when he sees Neil coming over to him, he waits for his approach. Sensing that her father wanted to be alone with Neil, Grace walked over to her mother.

_Here we go,_ Neil thinks as he stops in front of Jamal. _Might as well take the plunge, _he does a mind-shrug, beforeholding out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, sir." He says neutrally._ How long have I been holding my hand now? Should I put it down? Walk away- ah._

_P__leasure to meet me?_ Jamal thinks,_ after all I put him through, he's still being polite to me? _ Moving his hand to shake Neil's he answers "You too. Sorry that we didn't get off on the right foot, but I'm still getting used to not being the only man in Grace's life," he says sheepishly.

"No problem sir, I understand," Neil says. _Well, I was not expecting that response_. 

"Call me Jamal, Neil," Jamal says, letting go of Neil's hand with a smile

.  
Nodding his head in acceptance, Neil watches Grace coming back over to them before grabbing her hand and moving to the car.

Settling into the car for the journey home, Grace relaxes against Neil. "Well, it's not been too bad, has it?" she queries.

"Nope, not too bad at all," He smiles, pulling her closer. Chatting away they soon arrive back at Graces'.

Placing their bags inside the flat, they both walk back to the front door to wave Paul off after he declined coming inside for a drink. Standing outside arm in arm they wave and watch him drive down the road.

Turning to Neil, Grace asks him "So, do you want to come inside or do you want to escape me and head back home?"

"Oh, I think I can stay a little while longer," he grins cheekily before turning and pulling Grace into the flat. They move to the kitchen, grabbing a couple of drinks from the fridge.

Leaning back onto the counter Grace closes her eyes and takes a sip of her drink, letting out a deep sigh. Opening her eyes back up, she holds in a nervous smile when she sees Neil watching her with a smile on his face. Raising an eyebrow in silent question she waits. 

Watching her lean back on the counter and relax, he smiles when he sees he take a drink and let out of a sigh. _I think it did some good, her getting out of here for a while_. Seeing her question him with a look, he places his drink down on the counter and walks over to her. 

Standing in front of her Neil places his hands on her hips and pulls her closer. "Just thinking that it _has_ been good to get away for a couple of days," he says, staring into her eyes.

Placing her own drink on the counter behind her, Grace slides her hands up his chest, slipping them inside his jacket. "Yeah, it has been good, but I'm glad to be back home now," she whispers.

"Yeah, me too. Don't get me wrong, it was great getting to know your family and I will have to repay that favor, bu-_ut,_ now I'm glad it's just you and me," he murmurs, pulling her closer.

Being pulled closer to him, Grace slides her hand up around his neck, playing with the hairs at the back of his neck Grace agrees with him. "Yep, but now what do you want to do?" she asks flirtatiously.

"Well…I _do _have one thing in mind… And we haven't got to go outside at all," he murmurs as he nuzzles her neck, his fingers exploring the bottom of her top.

"Well, I only think that's fair, since we've done what I've wanted to do these past few days, it's your turn now," Grace replies a little breathlessly.

Pushing him off of her however, she places her hands on his chest to stop him coming any closer. "On one condition though…" Grace tells him, waiting for his head to tilt his head in question before continuing, "Let's not do this in the kitchen." Getting a grin in response she lets him pull her towards her bedroom. 

Pulling her in and shutting the door, _I am one lucky man_ is all he can think off, as they spend the next couple of hours locked inside the bedroom.

**THE END**

**Well I hope the last chapter has wrapped up any questions left over in the story!**

**I hope that you have all enjoyed this chapter and most of all the story!**

**Thank you again for all of my readers and reviewers.**

**Since this story has really been my only story, first and everything, I think it went alright? **

**I know my updating has been up and down but thank you for sticking with it all.**

**I do have another story in the works, I have written three chapters already, but I will not be posting that for a while as I want to get most of it finished so I am not making you all wait for too long. It will be called 'Nothing stays hidden'. So keep your eye out. **

**If you want the first chapter posted I will, but I will warn you all now, It will be a very loooong time to get an update from me. Let me know, and most of all let me know what you thought of THIS story and chapter.**

**You have all been great and encouraging**

**Love to you all xxx**


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